Fresnillo leads miners higher in London

European equities markets were higher Monday on a bit more optimism about the direction of economic recovery after the Group of 20 nations appeared to be united in how to approach debt issues at a meeting over the weekend in Canada.

The FTSE 100 added 0.5 percent to 5,071.68 in London, while the FTSE 250 gained 0.4 percent to 9,644.88.

Most miners were higher in London trade, led on the 100 by gold and silver miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES), which added 4.89 percent, while Antofagasta (LSE: ANTO) and Anglo American (LSE: AAL) also made the list of the index’s top five gainers as they were up 2.54 percent and 2.24 percent respectively.

In the mining sector, only Gem Diamonds (LSE: GEMD) and Talvivaara Mining Company (LSE: TALV) saw declines, falling 1.83 percent and 0.53 percent respectively.

Premier Oil (LSE: PMO) led the energy sector higher, adding 6.6 percent for the best performance of the session on the 250, while Hansen Transmissions International (LSE: HSN), which makes gearboxes for wind turbine machines, dropped 3.59 as the worst performer in the sector.

Banks were mixed, with Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) adding 2.23 percent to lead the sector after it was upgraded from “reduce” to “buy” by Nomura Securities, while Standard Chartered (LSE: STAN) dropped 1.84 percent on an update that disappointed.

Household and personal care products manufacturer Mcbride (LSE: MCB) added 6.14 percent on the session after having dropped 22 percent Thursday and 18 percent Friday on a statement that while materials prices are expected to rise, it will not be able to immediately pass on the higher costs to consumers.

Support services group Connaught (LSE: CNT) fell 37.21 percent to lead declines in London on a profits warning and broker downgrades after declining 29.11 percent Friday.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.18 percent to 1,025.54 while the Dax added 1.43 percent to 6,157.22 and the CAC-40 and IBEX each gained 1.61 percent, to 3,576.45 and 9,688.5 respectively.

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

The Nikkei 225 was 0.45 percent lower to 9,693.94 in Tokyo, while the Topix index fell 0.75 percent to 860.8 and the Mother’s market dropped 4.33 percent to 385.43.

Toyota Motor (TYO: 7203) was down 1.1 percent after it announced another recall, this time on its 2010 Lexus HS250h hybrid due to a potential fuel leak issue.

Banks were also lower, with Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (TYO: 8316) each dropped 1.9 percent while Mizuho Financial Group (TYO: 8411) was down 2.6 percent on comments about a new share offering.

Australian markets were also down, with the S&P/ASX200 0.65 percent lower to 4,384.5 while the Sydney Ordinaries fell 0.67 percent to 4,409.7.

In China, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.69 percent to 2,535.28 after airlines slipped, with China Southern Airlines (SSE: 600029)down 3.6 percent while Air China Ltd (SSE: 601111) was 4.5 percent lower

Markets seeing gains in the region included South Korea’s Kospi, which added 0.13 percent to 1,732.03, while the Hang Seng was up 0.17 percent to 20,726.68 in Hong Kong, the Taiex was 0.35 percent higher to 7,500.79 in Taiwan, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.64 percent to 2,869.99, and the Sensex gained 1.14 percent to 17,774.26.

New York markets were up slightly, lifted by gains for tobacco-related shares after the US Supreme Court refused to review a lower court case which held that while the tobacco industry improperly hid the dangers of smoking for decades, the government cannot make the companies fund anti-smoking campaigns to make up for their illegal concealment of the risks of smoking.

In midday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.13 percent higher to 10,156.66, while the S&P 500 had added 0.11 percent to 1,077.92 and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.28 percent to 2,229.69.

Crude oil prices were lower, but West Texas Intermediate crude was still trading above $78 per barrel at 12:30 p.m. in New York, while metals prices also fell, with gold down nearly $15 per troy ounce at midday.

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