Laird gains nearly 38 percent on rejected bid

European equities markets were lower Thursday on more concerns about Greece’s debt problems after rioting in Athens over austerity measures that must be taken if the nation is to receive any more aid, and after Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said he will form a new government and call for a confidence vote.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.76 percent to 5,698.81 in London, while the FTSE 250 dropped 1.12 percent to 11,631.8 after new data from the Office of National Statistics showed that retail sales were down 1.4 percent in May from April, more of a decline than expected after gains in April.

The industrial goods and services sector was down, with only six gainers in the large sector, but it also provided the two top gainers on the 250 as Laird (LSE: LRD) added 37.58 percent after the company that makes electromagnetic shields for mobile phones said it has rejected a bid from Cooper Industries (NYSE: CBE), and as engineering group Renishaw (LSE: RSW) added 1.54 percent for the second-best performance in the sector.

The worst performer on the 250 also came from the industrial goods and services sector as electronics group Premier Farnell (LSE: PFL) dropped 8.81 percent.

The best performance on the 100 came from a mixed banking sector as Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY) added just 0.74 percent, while miner Lonmin (LSE: LMI) was the worst performer on the session on the 100 as it dropped 3.42 percent.

There was only one gainer in the mining sector, with Gem Diamonds (LSE: GEMD) up 0.12 percent, while the worst miner was Kenmore Resources (LSE: KMR) with a drop off 6.09 percent.

Besides the mining sector, the energy, utilities and the food and beverage sector all had just one gainer on the session, while insurers, the real estate sector and telecoms each saw just two gainers and the travel and leisure only had five groups that advanced.

Despite the report of declines in retail sales last month, the retail sector did fairly well with seven gainers, led by Home Retail Group (LSE: HOME), which added 2.69 percent.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.42 percent to 1,084.42 while the Dax fell 0.07 percent to 7,110.2, the IBEX was 0.15 percent lower to 9,918.5 and the CAC-40 dropped 0.38 percent to 3,792.31.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were lower on concerns about the European debt crisis after the rioting in Greece against austerity measures and after data implied that the US economy is slowing down as homebuilder confidence was down, New York region manufacturing contracted this month and manufacturing activity across the US was up less than expected in May.

The Nikkei 225 was down 1.7 percent to 9,411.28 in Tokyo, while the Topix index was 1.48 percent lower to 812.41 but the Mothers market managed to added 0.11 percent to 455.07 as commodities traders, oil producers, the electronics sector and the real estate sector were all lower.

The real estate sector saw declines after fewer than expected condominiums were put on the market in Tokyo in May, with Sumitomo Realty and Development (TYO: 8830) down 2.4 percent while Mitsubishi Estate (TYO: 8802) was 2.6 percent lower and Mitsui Fudosan (TYO: 8801) dropped. 3.6 percent.

Elsewhere in the region India’s Sensex was down 0.81 percent to 17,985.9 after the central bank there raised interest rates, the Straits Times Index fell 1.14 percent to 3,020.13 in Singapore, the Shanghai Composite was 1.52 percent lower to 2,664.28, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1.75 percent to 21,953.1, the Kospi was down 1.91 percent to 2,046.63, Australia’s markets were lower as the Sydney Ordinaries declined by 1.91 percent to 4,546.7 and the S&P/ASX200 fell 1.92 percent to 4,479.2, while Taiwan’s Taiex was 2 percent lower to 8,654.43.

New York equities markets were up in midday trade after the number of new filings for jobless benefits in the US dropped last week and new data showed that housing starts and new building permits issued in May were both higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.66 percent to 11,975.8 at 12:45 p.m. in New York, while the S&P 500 had added 0.47 percent to 1,271.43 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.22 percent higher to 2,637.35.

Prices for crude oil and metals were up at midday in New York, but only by a bit after declines on Wednesday.

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