Lamprell adds 17 percent in London

European equities markets were mostly higher Tuesday, but the pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300, which lists the top 300 companies by market capitalization in Europe, was down 0.02 percent to 979.15 on the session.

In London, the FTSE 100 was up 0.38 percent to 5,111.84 and the FTSE 250 added 0.11 percent to 9,020.01.

The biggest gains in London came for construction and engineering company Lamprell (LSE: LAM), which specializes if building and rebuilding oil rigs, as it added 17.43 percent on the 250.

Over on the 100, the top four winners were all from the mining sector, led by Xstrata (LSE: XTA) with a gain of 4.54 percent and followed by Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO), which added 4.09 percent while Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) was up 3.74 percent and gold and silver miner Fresnillo (LSE FRES) gained 3.4 percent.

Also seeing gains on the 100 was British Airways (LSE: BAY), which gained 3.17 percent.

Insurer Aviva (LSE: AV) led decliners on the 100 and was the worst performer in its sector as it dropped 3.15 percent, followed by fellow sector constituent Resolution (LSE: RSL) with a decline of 2.6 percent.

Retailers had a tough day on the 250 as DSG International (LSE: DSGI) fell 3.7 percent for the worst performance of the day on that index and in London overall and as Carphone Warehouse Group (LSE: CPW) dropped 3.22 percent in a mixed sector.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed.

The Nikkei 225 was down 0.19 percent to 9,932.9, its lowest close in two months, while the Topix index fell 0.16 percent to 881.57 and the Mothers market dropped 0.22 percent to 386.48.

Carmaker Toyota’s (TYO: 7203) shares were higher, adding 3.05 percent as it seemed to be dealing with safety issues relating to its cars and even though it issued another recall, this time relating to braking problems in its Prius model.

Related shares also gained, including auto parts company Denso (TYO: 6902), which added 0.96 percent.

The pharmaceuticals sector was lower as Chugai Pharmaceutical Co (TYO: 4519) fell 2.5 percent and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co (TYO: 4502) dropped 2.6 percent.

Australia’s markets were also lower, with the S&P/ASX200 down 0.36 percent to 4,505.1 while the Sydney Ordinaries dropped 0.4 percent to 4,520.7.

On the other hand, the Shanghai Composite was up 0.47 percent to 2,948.84, the Sensex added 0.67 percent to 16,042.18, the Kospi was 1.14 percent higher to 1,570.49, the Hang Seng was up 1.22 percent to 19,790.28, the Straits Times Index added 1.91 percent to 2,745.02 and the Taiex gained 2.01 percent to 7,361.04.

New York markets were higher in midday trade on upbeat quarterly reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.7 percent to 10,077.08 while the S&P 500 had added 1.41 percent to 1,071.62 and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.2 percent higher to 2,151.53.

Also helping gains were rising hopes that the European Union will help Greece deal with mounting debt, especially after reports that Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, will attend a meeting of EU policymakers later this week.

Additionally, Greece said during the day that it will increase retirement ages and raise fuel taxes as part of its efforts to save money.

Prices for crude oil were up nearly $2 per barrel and metals prices gained ground in midday trade in New York.

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