PUB adds almost 22 percent on 250

European equities markets were higher Tuesday on good economic news from the United States as house prices fell less than had been expected in June, consumer confidence was up in the US, and President Barack Obama nominated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for a second term as head of the Fed.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.42 percent to 4,916.8 in London, whiel the FTSE 250 added 0.33 percent to 8,860.81.

Pubs operator Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB) led gains on the 250 and topped a mixed travel and leisure sector as it added 21.65 percent on the session.

Banks were mixed as Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS; NYSE: RBS PRM) added 3.86 percent to lead the sector but Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN; SEHK: 2888).

Most miners were lower, led by a decline of 3.76 percent for Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP) on the 250, while Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) dropped 3.57 percent to lead declines on the 100 and the biggest gain in the sector was only 0.27 percent, for Vedanta Resources (LSE: VED).

Broker Man Group (LSE: EMG) led gains on the 100 as it added 4.83 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.37 percent to 978.76 while the Dax added 0.68 percent to 5,557.09, the CAC-40 was 0.78 percent higher to 3,680.61 and the IBEX gained 1.1 percent to 11,427.8.

Cosmetics manufacturer L’Oreal (Euronext: OR) led gains on the CAC-40 as it added 5.09 percent, while insurer Axa (Euronext: CS; NYSE: AXA) was the worst performer on the Paris index with a decline of 0.71 percent.

Carmaker Volkswagen (FWB: VOW) lost the most on the Dax as it dropped 2.77 percent, while engineering group Siemens (FWB: SIE; NYSE: SI) was the biggest gainer there, adding 3.8 percent.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region saw declines on the session.

The Nikkei 225 was 0.79 percent lower to 10,497.36 while the Topix index fell 0.53 percent, but the Mothers market managed a gain of 1.1 percent to 458.1.

The declines for the Nikkei and Topix came as investors took profits after recent gains, and on a reluctance to make purchases before knowing the outcome of elections in Japan, scheduled for Sunday.

Polls have shown that the opposition Democratic Party could win decisively after half a century of almost continuous rule by the Liberal Democratic Party.

Banks were lower on an analyst opinion that up to 150 to 200 more US banks will fail before the end of the current crisis, with Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306) down 1 percent as Sumitomo Mitusi Financial (TYO: 8316) fell 1.2 percent and Mizuho Financial group (TYO: 8411) dropped 1.8 percent.

Carmakers were also lower with Toyota Motor (TYO: 7203) down 0.5 percent on reports that it will raise production in November for the first time in almost a year and a half, while Honda Motor (TYO: 7267) dropped 2 percent.

Australian markets were also lower as the Sydney Ordinaries fell 0.38 percent to 4,417.5 and the S&P/ASX200 was down 0.46 percent to 4,405.8.

Other decliners in the region included the Taiex, which was down 0.42 percent to 6,809.41 while the Hang Seng fell 0.49 percent to 20,435.24, the Kospi was 0.67 percent lower to 1,601.38 and the Shanghai Composite dropped 2.59 percent to 2,915.8.

The Straits Times Index added 0.25 percent to 2,618.76 and India’s Sensex gained 0.38 percent to 15,688.47.

In afternoon trade in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.56 percent to 9,562.49 while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.43 percent to 2.026.69 and the S&P 500 was 0.44 percent higher to 1,030.08.

Story link: PUB adds almost 22 percent on 250