Royal Bank of Scotland leads London banks lower

European equities markets were lower Monday as banks declined after Standard & Poor’s cut Greece’s credit rating, renewing concerns about debt problems in parts of the region.

S&P cut Greece’s credit rating from B to BB minus, and said it could make further cuts.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.57 percent to 5,942.69 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 0.09 percent to 11,896.1.

Banks were lower in London, with Royal Bank of Scotland Group (LSE: RBS) down 2.43 percent, followed by a 1.96 percent decline for Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN), while HSBC Holdings (LSE: HSBA) was 0.54 percent lower on a drop in its pretax profits in Europe.

The biggest gainer on the 100 was satellite communications specialist Inmarsat (LSE: ISAT), which added 4.38 percent after it said first quarter revenues were up by 15 percent in a mostly higher telecommunications sector, while the only decline in the sector came from COLT Group SA (LSE: COLT), which was down 2.19 percent.

The utilities sector was lower except for a gain of 0.08 percent for Scottish & Southern Energy (LSE: SSE), with declines in the sector led by gas and electricity utility Centrica (LSE: CNA), which was down 3.8 percent to lead declines on the 100, while it was followed lower in the sector by United Utilities Group (LSE: UU) as the water utility dropped 2.08 percent.

Software group Misys (LSE: MSY) added 8.36 percent as the biggest gainer on the 250, while fellow software specialists Micro Focus International (LSE: MCRO), Autonomy Corporation (LSE: AU) and Sage Group (LSE: SGE) also saw gains, advancing 3.27 percent, 3.91 percent and 1.64 percent respectively.

The mining sector was mixed as Talvivaara Mining Company (LSE: TALV) dropped 3.44 percent to lead declines in the sector and on the 250, followed by a 3.16 percent decline for Centamin Egypt (LSE: CEY), but iron-ore miner Ferrexpo (LSE: FXPO) gained 3.33 percent to lead gainers in the sector.

The energy sector was also mixed, with gains led by oil and gas explorer Afren (LSE; AFR), which added 1.67 percent, while oil well builder and refurbisher Lamprell (LSE: LAM) dropped 3.43 percent for the worst day in the sector.

Casino and online gaming operator Rank Group (LSE: RNK) led gains in the travel and leisure sector as it added 1.88 percent while travel agent Thomas Cook Group (LSE: TCG) was the biggest decliner in the sector as it dropped 2.87 percent after reporting that while revenues were up 4 percent in its fiscal first half, it suffered a £166 million seasonal operating loss in the period.

Still in travel and leisure, airlines were lower as easyJet (LSE: EZJ) was down 2.34 percent and International Consolidated Airlines Group (LSE: IAG) was 2.24 percent lower.

Bookseller WH Smith (LSE: SMWH) added 2.86 percent as the best performer in the mostly lower retail sector, while consumer electronics retailers also did well as Dixons Retail (LSE: DXNS) was up 2.16 percent and Kesa Electricals (LSE: KESA) gained 1.39 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.43 percent to 1,140.04 while the Dax fell 1.09 percent to 7,410.52, the CAC-40 was 1.25 percent lower to 4,007.26 and the IBEX dropped 2.02 percent to 10,396.3.

Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were higher Monday, but Tokyo Markets were lower after Japan’s Prime Minister asked a power company to close one of its nuclear plants.

The Nikkei 225 was down 0.66 percent to 9,794.38 and the Topix index dropped 0.38 percent to 853.21, but the Mothers market managed to add a slight 0.01 percent to 473.5.

Chubu Electric Power (TYO: 9502) was 10 percent lower after Japan’s Prime Minister asked it to close its Hamaoka nuclear power plant after a government study found that there is an 87 percent chance that a magnitude-8 earthquake will hit the area where the plant is located within 30 years.

Still in the utilities sector, Tohoku Electric (TYO; 9506) dropped 2.1 percent on a report that it will say it took a loss in the fiscal year that ended in March.

Yamaha (TYO: 7951), which manufactures motorcycles and musical instruments among many other products, was down 5..8 percent on slower sales and trouble getting parts after the 11 March earthquake, while brewer Kirin (TYO: 2503) dropped 4 percent on losses related to damage at its factory in Sendai due to the earthquake.

Fast Retailing (TYO: 9983) was 4.2 percent lower an a drop in sales at its Uniqlo chain.

South Korea’s Kospi was also lower, dropping 0.39 percent to 2,139.17, but other markets saw gains as India’s Sensex added 0.05 percent to 18,529, Australia’s markets were higher as the S&P/ASX200 was up 0.29 percent to 4,756.8 and the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.32 percent to 4,831.7, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.3 percent to 2,872.46, Taiwan’s Taiex added 0.65 percent to 8,035.48, the Hang Seng was 0.76 percent higher to 23,336 in Hong Kong, and the Straits Times Index gained 1.21 percent to 3,136.94 in Singapore.

Equities markets in New York were higher at just past 1 p.m. local time, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.44 percent to 12,694.4 while the S&P 500 had added 0.45 percent to 1,346.29 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.55 percent higher to 2,843.13, with gains coming even though banks declined as they had in Europe.

Crude oil prices were up significantly, with June contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude up $3.55 to $100.73 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude was $4.18 higher to $113.31 per barrel in the latest reports from the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London, while metals prices were also higher after last week’s big decline.

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