Barratt Developments adds 9.45 percent on 250

European equities markets were higher Thursday as the construction and building materials sectors saw gains.

In London, the FTSE 100 added 1.43 percent to 4,756.58 while the FTSE 250 was up 1.65 percent to 8,508.64.

Home builder Barratt Developments (LSE: BDEV) led the 250 with a gain of 9.45 percent while Taylor Wimpey (LSE: TW) gained 7.49 percent on the session.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.38 percent to 944.87 while the Dax added 1.51 percent to 5,311.06, the CAC-40 was 1.59 percent higher to 3,505.32 and the IBEX gained 1.84 percent to 10,892.5.

Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region were higher after the Shanghai composite regained some of the week’s earlier losses, adding 4.52 percent to 2,911.58 on the session, on reports that China’s stock regulator has approved new mutual funds.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.76 percent to 10,383.41 while the Topix index was 1.63 percent higher to 958.59 and the Mothers market gained 0.23 percent to 450.73.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 added 0.08 percent to 4,377.5 while the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.09 percent to 4,391.4.

The Sensex was up 1.37 percent to 15,012.32 in India, while the Straits Times Index added 1.46 percent to 2,559.57, the Hang Seng was 1.88 percent higher to 20,328.86 and the Kospi gained 1.97 percent to 1,576.39 in South Korea.

The Taiex, on the other hand, dropped 0.82 percent to 6,733.23 in Taiwan.

In early afternoon trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent to 9,325.70 while the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.75 percent to 1,983.94 and the S&P 500 was 0.85 percent higher to 1,004.96.

Crude oil prices were volatile, with September contracts, due to close at the end of the day seeing slight gains near the close of trade in New York.

Metals prices and grains were mixed.

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