LLOY, RBS see gains in London

European equities markets were higher Wednesday as utilities shares were higher and most banks were higher.

The FTSE 100 added 0.97 percent to 4,716.76 in London, while the FTSE 250 was up 0.59 percent to 8,351.93.

Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) was 6.42 percent higher to lead the London banking sector, while Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) managed a 5.42 percent gain.

Construction and engineering group Balfour Beatty (LSE: BBY) led the 100 with a gain of 8.26 percent, while over on the 250, Emerald Energy (LSE: EEN) led the index and a mostly higher energy sector as it added 9.33 percent.

Most miners were higher, but gold and silver miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES) turned in the worst performance of the day on the 100 as it fell 3.64 percent and Eurasian Natural Resources (LSE: ENRC) dropped 2.93 percent.

Travel agents had a bad day of it as TUI Travel (LSE: TT) was down 2.9 percent and Thomas Cook Group (LSE: TCG) was 2.54 percent lower on the session.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 1.05 percent to 941.97 while the IBEX fell 0.94 percent to 10,933.8, the Dax was 1.22 percent lower to 5,350.09 and the CAC-40 dropped 1.48 percent to 3,507.24.

Gas and electricity utility Eon (FWB: EOA; LSE: EON; NYSE: EON) led the Dax with a gain of 5.35 percent while elsewhere in the utilities sector GDF Suez (Euronext: GSZ; GSZB) was up 4.28 percent, EDF (Euronext: EEN) added 3.22 percent and RWE (FWB: RWE) added 2.92 percent.

Eon’s gains came after it announced that its first half profits were higher than had been projected and on its statement that energy demand is beginning to steady.

Over on the CAC-40, Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext: ALU; NYSE: ALU; TYO: 6687) led winners as it added 6.57 percent while hotels operator Accor (Euronext: AC) dropped 2.78 percent to lead decliners.

Banks were mixed as Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) added 3.02 percent and BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) was up 2.66 percent but Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) dropped 0.58 percent.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region were lower.

In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 was down 1.42 percent to 10,435 and the Topix index dropped 1.4 percent to 959.87, but the Mothers market managed a bare 0.1 percent gain to 469.68.

The declines in Tokyo came on big equities declines in China and ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s decision on US interest rates, which are widely expected to remain steady this month.

There was also new data showing that wholesale prices in Japan dropped 8.5 percent in July from the same time last year, raising fears of deflation.

Sompo Japan Insurance (TYO: 8755) was down 2.9 percent after it posted net losses in its fiscal first quarter, bucking the trend of good news from the sector.

Other decliners in the region included the Taiex, which fell 0.15 percent to 6,898.9 while the Sensex was down 0.36 percent to 15,020.16, the Kospi was 0.88 percent lower to 1,565.35, the Straits Times Index dropped 1 percent to 2,571.31, the Hang Seng fell 3.03 percent to 20,435.24 and the Shanghai Composite was down 4.66 percent to 3,112.72.

In Australia, on the other hand, the S&P/ASX200 added 0.26 percent to 4,343.1 while the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.27 percent to 4,345.9.

In early afternoon trade in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.58 percent higher to 9,387.08 while the Nasdaq Composite had added 1.8 percent to 2005.13 and the S&P 500 was up 1.48 percent to 1,009.08, but trade was light ahead of the Fed’s decision on interest rates.

Story link: LLOY, RBS see gains in London