ArcelorMittal up on 2Q profits

Gains in European equities markets Wednesday were led by the steel sector as ArcelorMittal (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT; BMAD: MTS; LuxSE: MT), the world’s largest steel company, added 8.27 percent on the CAC-40 after it reported better-than-expected profits in the second quarter, while at the same time ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) was up 7.82 percent on Frankfurt’s Dax/

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.61 percent to 1,181.32 while the Dax was 0.96 percent higher to 6,460.12, Madrid’s IBEX added 1.15 percent to 11,817.9 and the Paris CAC-40 gained 1.85 percent to 4,400.55.

In London, meanwhile, the FTSE 100 was up 1.91 percent to 5,420.7 while the FTSE 250 gained 1.77 percent to 8,886.3.

Most equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were higher Wednesday, the main exception being the Shanghai Composite, which dropped 0.48 percent to 2,836.67.

Tokyo’s markets were mixed as the Nikkei 225 added 1.58 percent to 13,367.79 and the Topix index gained 1.67 percent to 1,302.99 but the Mothers market of small and mid-caps dropped 1.12 percent to 521.22.

The Kospi added 0.67 percent to 1,577.7 while Taiwan’s Taiex was up 0.8 percent to 7,070.35 and the Straits Times Index gained 1.35 percent to 2,925.5.

In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries added 1.73 percent to 5,008.7 and the S&P/ASX200 was 1.84 percent higher to 4,936.7, while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng was up 1.94 percent to 22,690.6 and India’s Sensex gained 3.59 percent to 14,287.21.

Wall Street was up in midday trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.86 percent to 11,495.19 as the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.26 percent to 2,325.59 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.73 percent to 1,272.38.

Crude oil prices rose sharply after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he will resign in September, while metals and grains prices were mixed.

The US dollar saw gains once again in relation to the euro.

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