London Stock Exchange computer glitch shortens session

Global equities markets saw gains on the session Monday after a move by the US government over the weekend to take control of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE).

European markets were higher on the takeover news, but London’s markets suffered after trade was closed for 7 hours there due to a malfunction in a computer system at the London Stock Exchange (LSE: LSE), finally reopening at 4 p.m. local time, leaving investors unable to buy or sell on a day when most other markets in the region saw their biggest gains in several months.

At the close of the truncated session, the FTSE 100 had nonetheless gained 3.92 percent to 5,446.3 while the FTSE 250 had added 3.38 percent to 9,270.

Elsewhere in the region, the Eurofirst 300 was up 3.31 percent to 1,162.74 while the Dax added 2.22 percent to 6,263.74, the CAC-40 was 3.42 percent higher to 4,340.18 and the IBEX gained 3.72 percent to 11,554.2.

Gains were substantial in the Asia-Pacific region, also due to investor response to the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac takeover, with the exception of the Shanghai Composite, which was 2.68 percent lower to 2,143.42.

In Tokyo, the banking sector led markets higher as the Nikkei 225 added 3.38 percent to 12,624.46 and the Topix index and Mothers market each gained 3.89 percent, to 1,216.41 and 441.03 respectively.

Elsewhere in the region, India’s Sensex was up 3.18 percent to 14,944.97 while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries added 3.57 percent to 5,126.3 and the S&P/ASX200 gained 3.9 percent to 5,067.5.

The Hang Seng was 4.32 percent higher to 20,794.27, the Straits Times Index was up 4.77 percent to 2,697.03, the Kospi gained 5.15 percent to 1,476.65 and the Taiex added 5.57 percent to 6,658.69.

In early afternoon trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.53 percent to 11,392.92 and the S&P 500 had added 1 percent to 1,254.7 but the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.26 percent to 2,250.1 after some tech stocks declined.

Crude oil prices and prices for grains were mixed, while precious metals fell on the session.

Lower-yielding currencies such as the yen and the Swiss franc weakened as investors looked to invest in higher-yielding currencies after most global equities markets advanced.

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