Galiform adds 10.23 percent to lead 250, all London stocks

European equities markets were mixed Thursday, although the pan-European Eurofirst 300 closed at its highest level in three weeks as it added 0.11 percent to 1,014.92.

London’s markets were higher as the FTSE 100 gained 0.19 percent to 5,276.5 and the FTSE 250 added 0.75 percent to 9,295.92.

Kitchen cabinets maker Galiform (LSE: GFRM) had the best day in London as it added 10.23 percent on to lead the 250, while the biggest gainer on the 100 was British Airways (LSE: BAY) with a gain of 7.5 percent.

The energy sector fell as crude oil prices declined, led by engineering group AMEC, which consults to the energy sector, with a decline of 5.02 percent for the worst performance on the 100, while elsewhere in the sector Dana Petroleum (LSE: DNX) fell 4.22 percent, Wellstream Holdings (LSE: WSM) was down 2.6 percent and Tullow Oil (LSE: TLW) dropped 1.76 percent.

Banks were higher, except that Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS) fell 3.02 percent.

Biotechnology group Genus (LSE: GNS) turned in the worst performance on the 250 as it dropped 10.94 percent on the session.

The Dax dropped 0.08 percent to 5,663.96 in Frankfurt while in Paris the CAC-40 fell 0.17 percent to 3,808.07, but the IBEX added 0.28 percent to 11,834.5 in Madrid.

Asia-Pacific region markets were mostly lower, although Taiwan’s Taiex managed to add 0.04 percent to 7,670.93 on the session.

The Nikkei 225 was down 0.68 percent to 9,804.49 in Tokyo, while the Topix index fell 0.53 percent to 867.7 and the Mothers market dropped 1.25 percent to 399.82 as shippers declined and even though some carmakers saw gains.

Shippers were lower after Nippon Yusen (TYO: 9101) said it will offer 427 million new shares for sale to raise ¥142.5 billion, causing concerns that the move would dilute share value and that other shippers could also need to raise more cash.

Nippon Yusen was 4 percent lower while Kawsasaki Kisen (TYO: 9107) fell 6.1 percent.

Among carmakers, Honda Motor (TYO: 726 7) added 1.8 percent and Fuji Heavy Industries (TYO: 7270) gained 4.4 percent after Goldman Sachs upped its recommendation on Fuji Heavy, which manufactures Subaru automobiles, from “neutral” to “buy” and added Honda to its “conviction buy” list.

Elsewhere in the region, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.07 percent to 3,172.94 while in Australia the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 0.16 percent to 4,758.2 and the S&P/ASX200 was 0.19 percent lower to 4,747.9.

The Straits Times Index was down 0.52 percent to 2,726.24 while the Sensex fell 0.52 percent to 2,726.24, the Sensex was 0.91 percent lower to 16,696.03, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 1.01 percent to 22,397.57 and the Kospi dropped 1.39 percent to 1,572.73 in South Korea.

Worrying gains in US oil stockpiles that sent crude oil prices lower worried investors more than a decline in new unemployment claims last week cheered them.

At just past 12:30 p.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.51 percent to 10,239.19 while at the same time the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 0.33 percent to 2,159.68 and the S&P 500 was 0.6 percent lower to 1,091.92.

The Labor Department reported that new jobless claims dropped to a seasonally adjusted 502,000 last week, the fewest number of new filings since the beginning of January.

Along with the drop in crude oil prices, the price of most metals was also lower in midday trade in New York.

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