Phillipines’ PSE index at new high

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed on Thursday. Gainers included the PSE Composite in the Phillipines, which reached a record high by gaining 1.9 percent to 3,802.32 on new data showing that inflation is slowing there. Also higher were Australian markets. The Sydney Ordinaries were 0.94 percent higher to 6,392.2, while the S&P/ASX200 added 1 percent to 6.362.3, mostly on gains in commodity-related shares as metals prices rose. Hong Kong saw gains as well, adding 0.16 percent to 22,252.99. In India, however, the Sensex dropped 0.12 percent to 14,861.89, while the Straits Times Index in Singapore was 0.19 percent lower to 3,351.68.

Tokyo markets were higher as the Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each added 0.3 percent, to 18,221.48 and 1,788.16 respectively. However, the consumer finance sector there saw declines on media reports that many borrowers are asking for refunds of overcharges on loan interest. Promise (TYO: 8574) fell 2.4 percent to ¥3,710, while Aiful (TYO: 8515) was 4 percent lower to ¥3,360 and Acom (TYO: 8572; OTC: ACMU) dropped 4.1 percent to ¥4,250. Bucking the trend was Credit Saison (TYO: 8253), which added 1.3 percent to ¥3,200. The retail sector added 0.8 percent as a whole, with Aeon (TYO: 8267) up 0.9 percent to ¥2,310. Seven & I (TYO: 3382) gained 2.6 percent to ¥3,600 on an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy” from Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675). In the electronics sector, Matsushita Electric Industrial (TYO: 6572; NYSE: MC) was 0.4 percent higher to ¥2,445, while Nintendo (TYO: 7974; NAS: NTDOY; FWB: NTO) gained 0.5 percent to ¥48,250 and Sony (TYO: 6758; NYSE: SNE) added 2.4 percent to ¥6,460 after recent declines due to poor sales of its PlayStation 3 games console.

In Europe, equities markets were lower on interest rate concerns. While the European Central Bank held interest rates at 4 percent, as had been expected, investors are worried that rates could go up again soon. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 dropped 0.61 percent to 1,610.24. The IBEX was 0.55 percent lower in Madrid to close at 14,907.4, while the Paris CAC-40 fell 0.63 percent to 6,059.53 and the Dax was down 1.09 percent to 7,987.13 in Frankfurt. There were only four gainers in Paris on the session, with retailer Carrefour (Euronext: CA) having the best day with a gain of 2.81 percent to €54.23. Others seeing gains included aerospace group EADS (Euronext: EAD; FWB: EAD) up 0.21 percent to €24.10. Drug maker Sanofi-Aventis (Euronext: SAN; NYSE: SNY) gained 0.44 percent to €61.44, while power generator Alstom (Euronext: ALO) added 0.89 percent to €128.03. In Frankfurt, financial planner MLP (FWB: MLP) performed best on the session as it added 0.52 percent to €15.44, while retailer Metro (FWB: MEO) gained 0.41 percent to €62.01. The biggest losers on the day in both Pairs and Frankfurt were in the utilities sector. In Frankfurt, Eon (FWB: EOA; LSE: EON; NYSE: EON) dropped 2.38 percent to €121.51, while EDF (Euronext: EEN) was 3.7 percent lower in Paris, to €77.52. Insurers had a tough day of it as well. AXA (Euronext: CS; NYSE: AXA) was 1.23 percent lower to €32.12, while Allianz (FWB: ALV; NYSE: AZ) dropped 1.76 percent to €171.21.

In London the FTSE 100 was 0.57 percent lower to 6,635.2, while the FTSE 250 fell 0.27 percent to 11,802.8. The declines came after the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to raise interest rates to 5.75 percent. Miners were helped by continuing merger rumors and by metals prices which remained strong. Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) was 1.45 percent higher to £40.01, while BHP Billiton (LSE: BLT; ASX: BHP; NYSE: BHP) gained 1.74 percent to £14.62. Xstrata (LSE: XTA) had the best day on the 100, adding 1.96 percent to £31.70. Computer software and video games retailer GAME Group (LSE: EBQ) was the best performer on the 250, gaining 7.14 percent to 195p, while employment recruiter Michael Page International (LSE: MPI) was 6.34 percent higher to 595p. The telecommunications sector took losses on the 100 after it was reported that Vodafone (LSE: VOD; NYSE: VOD; FWB: VOD) had not won an exclusive contract to partner with Apple (NAS: AAPL; LSE: ACP; FWB: APC) on its iPhone in the UK. Vodafone dropped 2.41 percent to 162.1p, while BT Group (LSE: BT.A; NSYE: BT) was 2.38 percent lower to 328.75p. Construction materials group Wolseley (LSE: WOS) had the worst day on the 100 as it dropped 2.63 percent to £11.83.

Wall Street was lower at mid-session as the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.28 percent to 13,539.25. The Nasdaq Composite had fallen 0.04 percent to 2,643.89, while the S&P 500 was 0.21 percent lower to 1,521.64. While the Institute for Supply Management showed the service sector expanding in June with in index reading of 60.7 in June, higher than May’s 59.7, investors worried as bond yields were up again as ten-year yields rose back above 5 percent. Mergers and acquisitions news brought many of the gains for individual companies. Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) added 26 percent on the news that it had accepted an all-cash offer from Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), while chemicals group Huntsman Corp (NYSE: HUN) gained 12.6 percent to $27.48 on an offer of around $6 billion from private equity. Not all bids news brought gains, however. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) fell 26 cents to $52.64 after it said it was thinking of offering for Cadbury Schweppes’ (LSE: CBRY; NYSE: SCG) Snapple brand. General Motors (NYSE: GM) dropped 3.7 percent to $36.57 on a downgrade from Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) after Tuesday’s news that GM’s sales were down 21.3 percent in June from last year at the same time. Declines on the Nasdaq were limited by gains by Apple (NAS: AAPL; LSE: ACP; FWB: APC), which was 2.9 percent higher to $130.79.