RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

                                                                                                                6th September 2012 Evening Report

THe FTSE 100 ends 2.1% higher at 5777, riding high on the formal presentation of the ECB's bond-buying proposals. Lloyds Banking Group closed up 6.7%, following its European banking peers which soared into the finish. Mining stocks also rise. All eyes will be on US nonfarm payrolls announced at 12:30.

The heavyweight mining and banking sectors responded to the European Central Bank's (ECB's) bond-buying plan on Thursday with investors hoping that this could mark a turning point in the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis.

Vedanta, Antofagasta and Randgold were leading the charge in the resource sector while lenders Lloyds and Barclays also jumped.

Hotel, restaurant and Costa coffee owner Whitbread jumped after reporting second-quarter sales growth of 14.8%, up from 13.9% in the first three months of the year. Investec said that the Whitbread "offers compelling value for a stock with impressive roll-out potential, strong asset backing and impressive trading momentum."

Supermarket group Morrisons also rose after pre-tax profits in the first half came in 3% ahead of consensus estimates. Jefferies said this morning that the stock is trading at an "unjustified" discount to supermarket peers in the UK and Europe.

Just a handful on the FTSE were in the red today with Imperial Tobacco extending losses from yesterday when it was reported that France may be considering a plain packaging law and price hikes for cigarettes packets.

South Africa-focused platinum miner Lonmin rose strongly on Thursday on reports that it has reached a 'peace accord' with its striking miners following a wave of protests over the last few weeks.

AG Barr was in demand after Societe Generale upgraded the shares to 'hold' and lifted its target price from 370p to 440p, one day after the group announced it is in discussions about an all-share merger with soft drinks peer Britvic.

THE FTSE 100             closed          Up    119          @      5,777 THE DOW JONES            @ 17:00         Up   237          @     13284 THE NASDAQ               @ 17:00         Up    59           @      3128 Exchange Rates GBP – USD        @      17:00              1.5925 GBP - EURO      @      17:00              1.2612