Insurer Aviva up 7.37 percent on first half profits

European equities markets were mixed Thursday on a report from the US Labor Department that first-time jobless claims in the United States were up by 19,000 last week, more than expected, and after both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England held interest rates steady.

The FTSE 100 was 0.38 percent lower to 5,265.78 in London, but the FTSE 250 added 0.39 percent to 10,166.13.

Life insurer Aviva (LSE: AV) led gains on the 100 and turned in the best performance in London, adding 7.37 percent after it said that first half profits were up 21 percent and that net income was also higher, while general insurer RSA Insurance Group (LSE: RSA) added 3.89 percent, also on results.

Over on the 250, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (LSE: MLC) added 7.14 percent to lead gainers on the index and the travel and leisure sector, while online gambling group PartyGaming (LSE: PRTY) was the worst performer in the sector as it dropped 4.58 percent even as betting shops operator Ladbrokes (LSE: LAD) added 4.69 percent.

Facilities manager Connaught (LSE: CNT) dropped 9.38 percent on the 250 to lead decliners in London, while over on the 100 declines were led by aerospace and defense group Cobham (LSE: COB), which fell 6.63 percent on first-half net income that was down 29 percent.

Most banks were lower, led by Barclays Bank (LSE: BARC), which was down 4.46 percent even though first half net income was up by 29 percent, better than anticipated, as its investment banking unit, Barclays Capital, saw revenues drop by 32 percent.

Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) alone saw gains among the big banks, adding 2.15 percent.

Miner Randgold Resources (LSE: RRS) fell most in a mixed sector, dropping 5.6 percent after it reported that its cost per ounce to mine gold was up 39 percent to $665 per ounce, and after it issued a reduced full-year outlook.

Randgold was followed in declines by gold and silver miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES), which fell 4.92 percent, while Talvivaara Mining Company (LSE: TALV) turned in the best performance among miners as it added 4.08 percent.

Consumer goods manufacturer Unilever (LSE: ULVR) was down 5.19 percent after sales in western Europe fell by 2.2 percent in the second quarter, missing projections, while medical device maker Smith & Nephew (LSE: SN) added 1.88 percent after its second quarter operating profits exceeded expectations, adding 9.5 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.19 percent to 1,068.78 and the IBEX dropped 0.03 percent to 10,840, but the Dax added 0.04 percent to 6,333.58 and the CAC-40 gained 0.09percent to 3,764.19.

Markets were mixed in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Nikkei 225 was 1.73 percent higher to 9,653.92 in Tokyo while the Topix index was up 1.32 percent to 857.09, but the Mothers market dropped 0.5 percent to 380.95.

The real estate sector was up after Tokyo’s vacancy rate fell to 9.1 percent in July from a record high in June, with Mitsubishi Estate (TYO: 8802) up 5.4 percent while Mitsui Fudosan (TYO: 8801) added 5.7 percent.

Carmakers were higher after both Toyota Motor (TYO: 7203) and Isuzu Motors (TYO: 7202) raised their full-year forecasts.

Toyota was up 0.5 percent on its new forecast as demand in the US began to recover, while Isuzu gained 6 percent about it doubled its net income prediction for the full year, while Honda Motor (TYO: 72267) added 2.6 percent.

Gains also came in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng was up 0.01 percent to 21,551.72, and in Singapore as the Straits Times Index added 0.16 percent to 3,006.76.

The S&P/ASX200 was 0.54 percent higher to 4,566.5 in Australia, while the Sydney Ordinaries gained 0.55 percent to 4,584.9.

India’s Sensex was 0.24 percent lower to 18,172.83, the Kospi fell 0.3 percent to 1,783.86 in South Korea, Taiwan’s Taiex was down 0.45 percent to 7,936.85 and the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.67 percent to 2,620.76 after bank regulators called for a new series of stress tests for Chinese banks.

New York markets were lower, hurt by the reports showing a rise in first time unemployment claims filed last week in the US and by the news that same-store sales for 28 major retailers were up only 2.9 percent in July.

At just before 1 p.m. local time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.35 percent to 10,642.85 while at the same time the S&P 500 was down 0.41 percent to 1,122.59 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.56 percent lower to 2,290.78.

Crude oil prices were lower in midday trade, but September contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were still treading near $82 per barrel.

Prices for gold and silver were higher in New York trade, but copper prices were lower.

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