PRU adds 10.7 percent to lead insurers

European equities markets were higher Thursday on new data showing that the gross domestic product in both Germany and France were up in the second quarter, but gains were limited after figures from the United States showed that retail sales there were down in July and new jobless claims were up slightly.

The GDP of France and Germany each added 0.3 percent in the second quarter, so that the Eurozone economy as a whole contracted by only 0.1 percent in the period, less than had been expected.

Meanwhile, in the United States, retail sales were reported down by 0.1 percent in July, while new jobless claims were up by 4,000 last week although ongoing claims fell in the last week for which there is data.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.82 percent to 4,755.46 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 1.58 percent to 8,483.66.

Insurer Prudential (LSE: PRU; NYSE: PUK) led gainers on the 100 as it added 10.7 percent to lead an insurance sector that was mostly higher, while travel agent Thomas Cook Group (LSE: TCG) dropped 4.78 percent for the worst performance of the day on the 100.

The mining sector was higher on higher metals prices, led by Eurasian Natural Resources (LSE: ENRC), which added 5.96 percent on the session.

Media and publishing were lower as Thomson Reuters (LSE: TRIL) dropped 2.57 percent and publisher Reed Elsevier (LSE: REL) was down 2.16 percent.

Over on the 250, auto retailer Inchcape (LSE: INCH) added 9.12 percent for the best performance of the day on that index, while Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) led decliners as it fell 3.43 percent.

But the loss for DJAN notwithstanding, most of the real estate development sector was higher, led by Land Securities Group (LSE: LAND) with a gain of 4.94 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.71 percent to 948.72 while the CAC-40 added 0.49 percent to 3,524.39, the Dax was 0.95 percent higher to 5,401.11 and the IBEX gained 1.03 percent to 11,046.8.

Carmakers were higher as Renault (Euronext: RNO) led gainers on the CAC-40 as it added 4.97 percent, while truck maker Man (FWB: EDF1) was up 3.63 percent, BMW (FWB: BMW) was 3.54 percent higher and Peugeot (Euronext: UG) gained 2.65 percent.

Banks saw gains, with Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) adding 3.19 percent while Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) was 2.91 percent higher.

Food processor Danone (Euronext: BN) fared worst on the CAC-40 with a decline of 1.91 percent while over on the Dax the biggest loser was Fresenius Medical Care (FWB: FREG), which dropped 2.29 percent.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region were up on the session.

The Nikkei 225 added 0.79 percent to 10,517.19 in Tokyo, while the Topix index was up 0.89 percent to 968.41 and the Mothers market gained 0.12 percent to 470.24.

Shares related to trains and railway manufacturing were higher on a report that Vietnam will import Japan’s bullet train technology as it develops a high-speed railway system of its own.

The news that Vietnam will use Japan’s technology raised the possibility that other nations will also look at importing Japanese technology to construct high-speed rail systems.

Kawasaki Heavy (TYO: 7012) added 6.9 percent on the news, while Kinki Sharyo Co (TYO: 7122) was 8.7 percent higher and Nippon Sharyo Ltd (TYO: 7102) gained 8.9 percent.

Carmakers and high tech shares were higher after yesterday’s comments from the US Federal Reserve that seemed to indicate that the worst of the recession is over and that the economy is beginning to recover.

The Shanghai composite added 0.89 percent to 3,140.56 while the Straits Times Index was up 1.67 percent to 2,614.18, the Taiex gained 1.97 percent to 7,034.96 and the Hang Seng was 2.08 percent higher to 20,861.3.

The Sydney Ordinaries added 2.09 percent to 4,436.7 in Australia and the S&P/ASX200 was 2.14 percent higher to 4,435.9, while in India the Sensex gained 3.32 percent to 15,518.49.

On the other hand, the Kospi was down 0.05 percent to 1,564.64 in South Korea.

Despite bad news from the retail sector and the small uptick in first-time unemployment claims last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.42 percent to 9,401.06 in early afternoon trade in New York, while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 each had added 0.65 percent, to 2,011.77 and 1,012.38 respectively.

Story link: PRU adds 10.7 percent to lead insurers