Wall Street gains at midday

Equities markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Monday. The Australian market saw declines, with the Sydney Ordinaries 0.19 percent lower to 6,298.6 and the S&P/ASX200 closing lower to 6,263.3. While retailers saw gains, banks were mostly lower and miners were mixed. Elsewhere in the region, the Straits Times index added 0.01 percent to 3,550.34 in Singapore, while in India the Sensex gained 0.09 percent to 14,644.26. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed virtually unchanged at 18,146.30, while the Topix index was up 0.3 percent to 1,780.36.

Commodities prices sent resources-linked shares higher in Tokyo. Sumitomo Metal Mining (TYO: 5405) was 2.6 percent higher to ¥2,745. Meanwhile trading house Mitsubishi Corp (TYO: 8058; OTC: MSBHY), which has interests in natural resources, gained 1.9 percent to ¥3,290. Consumer goods company Lion (TYO: 4912) added 3 percent to ¥689 after it said it will buy trademark rights to several brands, including pain medication Bufferin, from Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) in a deal worth ¥30 billion. Operating profits that were reported lower sent departments stores lower. Mitsukoshi (TYO: 2779) dropped 1 percent to ¥611, while Takashimaya (TYO: 8233) fell 1.7 percent to ¥1,529.

European markets were mostly lower on the session. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.24 percent to 1,601.5. In Paris the CAC-40 fell 0.46 percent to 6,026.95, while the IBEX was 0.59 percent lower to 14,804.7 in Madrid and the Dax was down 0.61 percent to 7,958.24 in Frankfurt. In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.26 percent to 6,590.6. On the other hand, the FTSE 250 managed to add 0.06 percent to 11,534.3.

Utilities were mixed in Paris. While EDF (Euronext: EEN) added 1.44 percent to €81.44, Suez dropped 1.51 percent to €41.85. The French construction sector was mixed as well. Lafarge (Euronext: LG) was 0.3 percent higher to €135.80, but Vinci fell 1.93 percent to €54.41 for the poorest performance of the day on the CAC-40. Mittal Steel (Euronext: MT; NYSE: MT) did the best on the 40, adding 1.65 percent to €47.34. In Frankfurt, meanwhile, ThyssenKrupp (FWB: TKA; LSE: THK) gained 0.27 percent to €44.26. The best performer on the Dax was in the semiconductors sector, where Infineon (FWB: IFX; NYSE: IFX) was 1.87 percent higher to €12.56. Other gainers on the day included Groupe Danone (Euronext: BN; NYSE: DA), which added 1.55 percent to €60.95 on rumors that Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) is discussing the purchase of Danone’s biscuit and cereal products unit. Allianz had the worst day in Frankfurt, dropping 2.12 percent to €170.16 after Merrill Lynch (NSYE: MER; TYO: 8675) removed the insurer from its list of preferred insurers.

The top five gainers on the FTSE 100 in London were all in the mining sector. Xstrata (LSE: XTA) gained 2.38 percent to £30.58, while BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP) was 2.52 percent higher to £14.25 and Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) added 3 percent to £39.42. Lonmin (LSE: LMI) was up 3.96 percent to £41.79 and Anglo American led the way with a gain of 5.64 percent to £31.11. The gains came on rumors that Xstrata might be interested in bidding for Lonmin; there were no comments forthcoming from any of the groups involved. Other gainers on the day included PartyGaming (LSE: PRTY), which added 5.69 percent to 32.50p on the FTSE 250 after it said that trading is as expected and it is confident about results for the full year. Decliners on the day included Imperial Tobacco (LSE: IMT), which dropped 2.47 percent to £22.50 as the smoking ban in all enclosed public spaces in the UK went into effect. British Airways (LSE: BAY; NYSE: BAB) was 1.37 percent lower to 412.75p on concerns in the wake of the attack at Glasgow airport on Saturday.

Wall Street saw gains by midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.56 percent higher to 13,495.11, while the Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.79 percent to 2,623.9 and the S&P 500 added 0.67 percent to 1,513.37. The telecommunications sector was higher on mergers and acquisitions news. After AT&T (NSYE: T) said on Friday that it will purchase Dobson Communications (NAS: DCEL) for $2.8 billion, AT&T added 24 cents to $41.71 and Dobson gained $1.29 to $12.40. Also in the sector, Virgin Media (NAS; VMED) was $4.54 higher to $28.91 on a bid from Carlyle Group. The semiconductors sector also saw gains on the day after the Semiconductor Industry Association said that chip sales were up 2.4 percent in May from the same period last year. Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK; 4335) added 2.3 percent to $24.28, while Nvidia gained 3.9 percent to $42.90. The pharmaceuticals sector was mixed. While Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) added 10 cents to $25.67, Merck (NYSE: MRK) dropped 44 cents to $49.36.