LGEN tops mixed insurance sector

Most equities markets in Europe saw gains Tuesday.

In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.85 percent to 4,481.17 while the FTSE 250 added 0.99 percent to 7,742.58.

Insurers were mostly higher, led by Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) with a gain of 4.27 percent, but Friends Provident (LSE: FP) dropped 2.5 percent after it spurned a takeover offer and specialty insurer Hiscox (LSE: HSX) dropped 3.74 percent.

Supermarket operator Wm. Morrison (LSE: MRW) had the best day on the 100 as it added 8.19 percent while TUI Travel (LSE: TT) turned in the worst performance of the session with a decline of 2.6 percent.

Gamblers had a very bad day over on the 250, with online and traditional gaming groups taking four of the five top spots on the list of losers, led by William Hill (LSE: WMH), which dropped 4.24 percent while online gamers 888 Holdings (LSE: 888) and Party Gaming (LSE: PRTY) fell 4.01 percent and 3.85 percent respectively and Ladbrokes (LSE: LAD) was down 2.51 percent.

Most miners were higher on the session, led by Anglo American (LSE: AAL) with a gain of 4.11 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.81 percent to 888.36 while the CAC-40 added 0.98 percent to 3,302.89 and the Dax gained 1.27 percent to 5,093.97, but the IBEX dropped 0.2 percent to 10,122.2.

Carmakers led both the CAC-40 and the Dax as Renault (Euronext: RNO) was up 5.45 percent and Volkswagen (FWB: VOW) added 5.5 percent while BMW (FWB: BMW) was 4.48 percent higher, Peugeot (Euronext: UG) gained 3.92 percent and truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) added 2.76 percent.

Banks were lower as BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) fell 1.66 percent, Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) was down 0.39 percent, Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) was 0.17 percent lower and Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) dropped 0.07 percent.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was up 2.73 percent to 9,652.02, its highest close in two weeks, while the Topix index added 2.65 percent to 901.55 and the Mothers market gained 2.25 percent to 442.96.

Construction machinery manufacturers were helped by an upgrade to “buy” for US manufacturer Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), issued by Merrill Lynch.

Komatsu (TYO: 6301) added 5.2 percent while Hitachi Construction Machinery (TYO: 6305) gained 9.5 percent, also aided by a broker upgrade from “sell” to “hold”.

Other gainers in the region included Australia’s markets, where the S&P/ASX200 was up 0.01 percent to 4,050.7 and the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.1 percent to 4,048.3, while at the same time the Taiex was 0.21 percent higher to 6,953.34 and the Kospi gained 0.71 percent to 1,488.99.

The Hang Seng was down fractionally to 19,501.73 while the Straits Times Index fell 0.07 percent to 2,454.33, the Sensex was 0.85 percent lower to 15,062.49 and the Shanghai Composite dropped 1.64 percent to 3,213.21.

New York markets were lower in early afternoon trade as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.13 percent to 8,836.82 at just before 1 p.m. while the Nasdaq Composite had fallen 0.67 percent to 1,896.47 and the S&P 500 had dropped 0.53 percent to 946.12.

The declines came on remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman in testimony before a House committee that consumer spending could be held down by worries over jobs, credit that is still difficult to come by, and declines in home values.

In addition, some corporate officers warned that they expect economic conditions to remain difficult.

Story link: LGEN tops mixed insurance sector