Thomas Cook Group, TUI Travel see declines

Europe’s equities markets saw gains Thursday on gains for banks, insurers and the pharmaceuticals sector.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.49 percent to 3,712.06 while the FTSE 250 gained 0.56 percent to 6,060.31.

Travel groups were down as Thomas Cook Group (LSE: TCG) had the worst day on the 100 with a decline of 11.43 percent while TUI Travel (LSE: TT) was 5.83 percent lower.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.49 percent to 696.07 while the CAC-40 added 0.75 percent to 2,694.25, the Dax was 1.08 percent higher to 3,956.22 and the IBEX gained 1.88 percent to 7,340.50.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed, with more decliners than gainers on the session.

Tokyo’s markets were lower as the Nikkei 225 dropped 2.41 percent to 7,198.25, the Topix index fell 2.96 percent to 700.93, its lowest level in 25 years, and the Mothers market of small and mid-caps was down 1.45 percent to 279.96.

Other decliners in the region included the Taiex, which dropped 0.11 percent to 4,754.65 and the Shanghai Composite with a decline of 0.24 percent to 2,133.88.

In Australia the Sydney Ordinaries and the S&P/ASX200 each fell 0.27 percent, to 3,190.4 and 3,235.5 respectively, while the Straits Times Index was 0.8 percent lower in Singapore.

Gainers on the session included the Kospi, which added 0.08 percent to 1,128.39 while the Hang Seng was up 0.59 percent to 12,001.53 and the Sensex gained 2.25 percent to 8,343.75.

At just before two p.m. in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.24 percent to 7,085.47 while the Nasdaq Composite had added 2.08 percent to 1,400.22 and the S&P 500 had gained 2.42 percent to 738.85.

Crude oil prices were up significantly, while metals prices were mixed and grains prices were up on the Chicago Board of Trade.

The pound was lower after the Bank of England began purchasing UK government bonds, while the Swiss franc fell after the Swiss National Bank intervened to weaken the currency by cutting interest rates and buying foreign currencies.

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