Gem Diamonds, Antofagasta lead miners lower

European equities markets fell Thursday as shares related to commodities declined as prices for oil and metals dropped on a stronger US dollar.

The FTSE 100 was down 1.39 percent to 5,267.7 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 2.06 percent to 9,236.9.

Miners made up four of the five biggest decliners on the 100, led by Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) with a decline of 5.37 percent and followed by gold and silver miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES), which dropped 5.27 percent at the same time that Xstrata (LSE: XTA) fell 5.06 percent and Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ) was down 4.07 percent.

The biggest decliner in the mining sector, however, was Gem Diamonds (LSE: GEMD), which was 5.43 percent lower on the session.

The oil sector was mostly lower, but Heritage Oil (LSE: HOIL) managed to record the best day on the 250 as it added 3.21 percent, while property company Daejan Holdings (LSE: DJAN) turned in the worst performance on the 250 and in London with a delcine of 9.77 percent.

Brewer SABMiller (LSE: SAB) had the best day on the 100 as it added 3.44 percent after it released better-than-expected results for the first half and predicted that the second half will be better on lower costs for ingredients.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 1.57 percent to 1,011.05 while the Dax fell 1.48 percent to 5,702.18, the IBEX was 1.56 percent lower to 11,846.2 and the CAC-40 fell 1.77 percent to 3,760.22.

There were no gainers on the Dax, while only one stock saw gains on the CAC-40.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on the session.

The Nikkei was down again in Tokyo, falling 1.32 percent to 9.549.47 while at the same time the Topix index was down 1.45 percent to 837.71 and the Mothers market dropped 0.33 percent to 367.09.

Banks were lower in Tokyo after Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306) said yesterday that it will have to raise around $11 billion in new cash to conform with new regulations on bank capitalization, which raised concerns that other banks will have to do the same.

Mitusbishi UFJ was down 3.7 percent in heavy trade, while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (TYO: 8316) fell 4.6 percent and Mizuho Financial Group (TYO: 8411) dropped 6.6 percent.

Japanese exporters were hurt by the continuing strength of the yen.

Taiwan’s Taiex was also lower, dropping 0.09 percent to 7,759.98 while the Hang Seng fell 0.86 percent to 22,643.16 in Hong Kong and India’s Sensex was down 1.25 percent to 16,785.65.

Australia’s markets were higher on the session as the Sydney Ordinaries added 0.17 percent to 4,767.8 and the S&P/ASX200 gained 0.22 percent to 4,749.2.

The Straits Times Index was also up, adding 0.5 percent to 2,758.79, while the Shanghai Composite was up 0.53 percent to 3,320.61 and the Kospi gained 1.03 percent to 1,620.54.

Wall Street was lower in midday trade after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the semiconductors sector and on declines among homebuilders after the Mortgage Bankers Association said that delinquencies on loans for small homes were at a 37-year high in the third quarter.

At just before 1 p.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.32 percent to 10,289.14 while the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 1.97 percent to 2,150.03 and the S&P 500 was 1.65 percent lower to 1,091.53.

The price of gold was slightly higher in midday trade in New York, but other precious metals prices declined and oil traded near Wednesday’s closing level.

Tags: Asia-Pacific equities, commodities, European equities, London equities, Wall Street