BA, IMI lead 100, 250 in London

European equities markets were mixed Monday after the oil sector declined and miners were largely down on the session.

The FTSE 100 was up 0.15 percent to 5,018.85 in London, but the FTSE 250 was down 0.92 percent to 9,123.13.

Defense contractor BAE Systems (LSE: BA) had the best day on the 100 as it gained 2.14 percent, while metal products manufacturer IMI (LSE: IMI) led the 250 as it added 4.02 percent.

In the mining sector, Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC) was 1.44 percent higher to lead the sectors few gainers, but Aquarius Platinum (LSE: AQP) turned in the worst performance in the sector with a decline of 4.18 percent and Eurasian Natural Resources (LSE: ENRC) dropped the most on the 100, falling 3.05 percent.

Three of the five biggest losers on the 100 were in the energy sector, with Cairn Energy (LSE: CNE) down 2.92 percent while BG Group (LSE: BG) fell 2.29 percent and Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) dropped 2.01 percent.

Directories publisher Yell Group (LSE: YELL) turned in the worst performance on the 250 as it declined 6.43 percent, while pubs operators also had a hard day on that index with Punch Taverns (LSE: PUB) down 5.73 percent while Enterprise Inns (LSE: ETI) dropped 5.17 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.31 percent while the Dax fell 0.07 percent to 5,620.24 and the CAC-40 dropped 0.11 percent to 3,730.61 but the IBEX added 0.35 percent to 11,492.6.

The automobile manufacturing sector had a hard day as Renault (Euronext: RNO) was down 2.75 percent for the worst performance on the CAC-40 and Volkswagen (FWB: VOW) dropped 2.06 percent as it fell the most on the Dax.

Additionally, Peugeot (Euronext: UG) was down 2.53 percent on the CAC-40.

Banks were lower, with Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) down 2.48 percent while Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) fell 2.36 percent, Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) was 1.63 percent lower and BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) dropped 1.59 percent.

Media group Vivendi (Euronext: VIV) had the best day on the CAC-40 with a gain of 2.97 percent while sports apparel manufacturer Adidas (FWB: ADS) added 2.49 percent for the biggest gain on the Dax.

Almost all equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were lower on the session.

In Tokyo the Nikkei 225 fell 2.32 percent to 10,202.06 while the Topix index was down 1.72 percent to 934.05 and the Mothers market dropped 0.32 percent to 461.72.

The declines came as the yen strengthened, hurting exporters, and after a prominent economist said that banks are in worse shape now than they were before Lehman Brothers collapsed a year ago.

In response, banks saw losses, with Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306) down 1.7 percent while Mizuho Financial Group (TYO: 8411) dropped 2 percent.

Carmaker Honda Motor (TYO: 7267) was down 3 percent as the yen gained on the US dollar.

The Sensex was down 0.31 percent to 16,214.19 while the Kospi fell 1.02 percent to 1,634.91, the Hang Seng was 1.08 percent lower to 20,932.2 and the Taiex dropped 1.09 percent to 7,256.95.

In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries fell 1.31 percent to 4,536.1 and the S&P/ASX200 was down 1.41 percent to 4,531.1, while the Straits Times Index dropped 1.54 percent to 2,639.74.

On the other hand, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.24 percent to 3,026.74.

New York equities markets were lower in early afternoon trade as the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.24 percent to 9,582.51 at just before 1 p.m. local time while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.02 percent to 2,080.41 and the S&P 500 was 0.07 percent lower to 1,041.98.

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