British Land drops as investors take profits

European equities markets were higher Tuesday after Monday’s declines.

The FTSE 100 was 0.88 percent higher to 4,685.78 in London, while the FTSE 250 added 0.97 precen tto 8,354.48.

Most in the real estate sector saw gains but British Land (LSE: BLND) led decliners in the sector and on the 100 as it dropped 2.66 percent, falling on profit-taking and after its CEO discounted rumors that it could be the target of takeover attempts.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.07 percent to 931.86 while the CAC-40 added 0.91 percent to 3,450.69, the Dax was 0.94 percent higher to 5,250.74 and the IBEX gained 1.04 percent to 10,708.30.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region were higher after Monday’s significant declines.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.16 percent to 10,284.96 while the Topix index was up a slight 0.01 percent to 949.66 and the Mothers market gained 0.08 percent to 455.22.

Other gainers in the region included the Kospi, which was up 0.21 percent to 1,550.24 in South Korea, while the Hang Seng added 0.84 percent to 20,306.27, the Straits Times Index was 0.85 percent higher to 2,567.72, the Shanghai Composite gained 1.4 percent to 2,910.88 and the Sensex added 1.69 percent to 15,035.26 in India.

In Australia, however, the S&P/ASX200 was down 0.15 percent to 4,381.6 while the Sydney Ordinaries fell 0.28 percent to 4,385.9, and in Taiwan the Taiex dropped 2.05 percent to 6,789.77.

New York markets were higher in midday trade as the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.81 percent to 9,209.55 while the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.12 percent to 1,952.38 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.92 percent to 988.75.

Crude oil prices were mixed, as were metals and grains prices.

Discuss this in the Finance Markets forums

Story link: British Land drops as investors take profits