RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO         6th  November 2012

        Evening Report

The FTSE 100 ends 0.8% higher at 5884.90. Resolution is the biggest gainer, closing 8.25% ahead after a broker upgrade. Marks & Spencer is also on the front foot, up 2.0% after 1H results. More broadly speaking, eyes are on the US presidential election and the Greek austerity vote.

Resolution was the standout performer today after Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its rating on the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy'. The US broker cited an attractive dividend yield as one of the reasons behind the move.

Lloyds was also rising on the back of reports the the company is looking to sell its 60% stake in St James's Place, a move that would raise around £1bn.

Security group G4S was in demand after saying its financial position continues to be strong and it "remains on track to meet its cash conversion target of 85% of PBITA [profit before interest, tax and amortisation] for the full year."

Chip designer ARM jumped after saying that it is leading a consortium which is to acquire the patent portfolio of MIPS Technologies, the US semiconductor design company, in order to reduce the risk of expensive patent infringement suits in the chip design industry.

Babcock's share price took a hit today despite the engineering support services group reporting a solid set of broadly 'in-line' first-half numbers. With shares performing extremely well in the year-to-date, analysts believe that the stock is now up with events. Investec analyst John Lawson said: "Babcock has been one of the best performers in the sector for some time and, whilst today's figures were good, we move from 'buy' to 'hold', mostly a valuation call after a strong run up."

Emerging markets bank Standard Chartered was a faller after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'underperform' and cut its target price from 1,460p to 1,340p.

THE FTSE 100            closed            Up     45       @      5884 THE DOW JONES           @ 17:00           Up     153      @      13265                                                      THE NASDAQ              @ 17:00           Up     14       @       3014

Exchange Rates GBP – USD                  @       17:00                1.5983 GBP - EURO                @       17:00                1.2466

Gold USD/Oz                              $1,697