Miner RIO higher on plans

European equities markets saw gains to end the week Friday.

London’s markets seemed not to be hurt by government resignations and calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The FTSE 100 added 1.18 percent to 4,438.56 while the FTSE 250 gained 1.14 percent to 7,747.33.

Miners were higher after Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) said it was dropping efforts toward a deal with China’s government metals company and instead will raise money in a rights issue and in a joint venture with BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT).

Rio Tinto added 10.33 percent to make it the session’s best performer on the 100, while Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED) was up 9.31 percent, Eurasian Natural Resources (LSE: ENRC) gained 7.31 percent and BHP was 6.8 percent higher.

The biggest loser on the 100 was travel agent Thomas Cook Group (LSE: TCG), which dropped 4.77 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.66 percent to 872.29 while the Dax added 0.24 percent to 5,977.03, the IBEX was 0.68 percent higher to 9,519 and the CAC-40 gained 0.82 percent to 3,339.05.

The automobile manufacturing sector was mixed as BMW (FWB: BMW) led winners on the Dax with a gain of 3.32 percent and Renault (Euronext: RNO) turned in the best performance on the CAC-40 as it added 4.38 percent, but Volkswagen (FWB: VOW) had the worst day on the Dax, dropping 2.43 perccent on the session.

There were gains in the banking sector as Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) added 2.37 percent and Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) was up 2.51 percent.

While markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed, more saw gains than suffered declines.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.02 percent to 9,768.01 while the Topix index added 0.61 percent to 916.56 and the Mothers market was 0.11 percent higher to 398.65.

Carmakers saw gains as Mitsubishi Motors (TYO: 7211) added 2.3 percent after it said it is charging less for its plug-in electric car than it costs to buy a rival, while Mazda Motor (TYO: 7261) gained 10.4 percent on an upgrade and raised target share price from Nikko Citigroup.

The oil sector gained on higher crude oil prices.

Other gainers in the region included the Sensex, which was up 0.63 percent to 15,103.55 while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries and S&P/ASX200 each added 0.93 percent, to 3,969 and 3,971.2 respectively.

The Hang Seng was 0.96 percent higher to 18,679.53, the Kospi added 1.2 percent to 1,394.71, and the Straits Times Index gained 1.42 percent to 2,396.35.

Among decliners, the Taiex fell 0.28 percent to 6,767.1 while the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.48 percent to 2,753.89.

New York markets were slightly higher in early afternoon trade as the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.47 percent to 8,791.13 while at the same time, the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.09 percent to 1,851.66 and the S&P 500 had managed to add just 0.02 percent to 942.62.

Story link: Miner RIO higher on plans