WSM leads 250, energy sector in London

European equities markets were higher Wednesday.

The FTSE 100 was up 1.63 percent to 5,124.13 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 1.54 percent to 9,305.24.

Components of the energy sector led both the 100 and the 250.

Wellstream Holdings (LSE: WSM), which designs pipeline systems for the oil and gas industry, led the sector and the 250 as it added 9.52 percent, while oil and gas explorer Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) led the 100 with a gain of 9.2 percent.

Clothing retailer Next (LSE: NXT) was the best performer in a mixed retail sector, adding 6.83 percent, while the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE: LSE) was up 6.5 percent.

London banks were higher, led by HSBC Holdings (LSE: HSBA), which was 4.4 percent higher on the session.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.27 percent to 1,005.01 while the Dax added 1.27 percent to 5,700.26, the IBEX was 1.32 percent higher to 11,746.9 and the CAC-40 gained 1.64 percent to 3,813.79.

Banks were up as Societe Generale (Euronext: GLE) led the CAC-40 with a gain of 5.7 percent while BNP Paribas (Euronext: BNP; TYO: 8665) was up 5.14 percent, Credit Agricole (Euronext: ACA) was 5.01 percent higher, Commerzbank (FWB: CBK) added 4.71 percent and Deutsche Bank gained 3.49 percent.

There were only 3 losers on the CAC-40, led by STMicroelectronics (Euronext: STM; NYSE: STM) which was down 0.5 percent, while the biggest decliner on the Dax was software group SAP (FWB: SAP), which dropped 1.37 percent.

Sports apparel manufacturer Adidas (FWB: ADS) turned in the best performance of the day on the Dax as it added 6.82 percent.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region were higher on the session, but the Shanghai Composite dropped 1.12 percent to 2,999.71.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was up 0.52 percent to 10,270.77 and the Mothers market added 0.13 percent to 463.93, but the Topix index again declined, falling 0.12 percent to 931.43.

The Nikkei was up as much as 1.7 percent at one point in the session, but it gave back some of the gains as the Democratic Party of Japan took over the nation’s government after recent elections voted the previous ruling party out by a wide margin.

The first act of the new government, which has pledged a number of economic reforms that will emphasize the domestic economy and attempt to cut reliance on exports, was to vote Yukio Hatoyama in as prime minister.

Among the party’s pledges is to cut corporate taxes, establish a national minimum wage, implement a per-child allowance for families beginning in 2011, and to make public high schools free of charge to students.

Banks were lower after the new financial services minister, Shizuka Kaemi, said he aims to aid small businesses and individuals by implementing a moratorium on the repayment of principal on bank loans and mortgages.

Mizuho Financial Group (TYO: 8411) was down 1.5 percent while Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306) fell 1.7 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (TYO: 8316) dropped 1.9 percent.

Exporters were higher, while components of the steel sector saw gains as Credit Suisse initiated coverage of Nippon Steel (TYO: 5401) and JFE Holdings (TYO: 5411) with a recommendation of “overweight” and started covering Kobe Steel with a recommendation of “neutral”.

Elsewhere, the Taiex was up 1.28 percent to 7,440.24, the Sensex added 1.35 percent to 16,677.04, the Straits Times Index was 1.37 percent higher to 2,674.42 and the Kospi was up 1.81 percent to 1,683.33.

In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries added 2.32 percent to 4,652.8 and the S&P/ASX200 was 2.42 percent higher to 4,650.4, while the Hang Seng gained 2.57 percent to 21,402.92 in Hong Kong.

New York markets were higher in early afternoon trade on hopes that the economy is on the mend.

At just past 1 p.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8 percent to 9,761.17 while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.97 percent to 2,122.98 and the S&P 500 was 1.11 percent higher to 1,064.36.

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