RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

 7th September 2012 Evening Report

The FTSE 100 ends 0.3% higher at 5794.80. The index hardly reacted to a downbeat US labor report, maintaining small gains throughout the afternoon session. The FOMC's policy meeting concludes next Thursday. The ECB's bond-buying plan, China's new infrastructure proposals and the prospect of QE3 support bank and mining stocks in particular Friday.

Banks and miners are still enjoying a massive boost from yesterday's decision by the European Central Bank to stand ready to buy unlimited amounts of sovereign debt of Eurozone countries. Steel maker Evraz, however, is the top performing stock. Like the miners, it is expected to benefit from the increased survival prospects of the common currency, as this will give global markets one less thing to worry about.

Xstrata is, like its mining peers, going well but that is partly because Glencore International has been prompted to make a last minute change to its merger proposals which shareholders from Glencore and Xstrata were set to vote on today.

Consumer electricals goods seller Dixons gives back some of the gains made yesterday after a well-received trading update. The results were not enough to persuade Nomura to change its "neutral" rating or 20p price target. Properties web site Rightmove and storage company Big Yellow Group are both off the pace after the Halifax House Price Index yesterday revealed house prices fell 0.4% in August in the UK.

THE FTSE 100             closed      Up        17      @      5,794 THE DOW JONES            @ 17:00     Down       5      @     13286 THE NASDAQ               @ 17:00     Down      1      @      3133 Exchange Rates GBP – USD        @      17:00           1.6014 GBP - EURO      @      17:00           1.2516