RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

20th August 2012

Evening Report

The FTSE 100 ends 0.5% lower at 5824.37, as both the ECB and the Bundesbank pour cold water on any hope markets had that a response to the euro zone's debt crisis is imminent. Miners and resources stocks fared worst.

Mining giant Xstrata reported that Qatar Holding had raised its stake in the firm, adding to speculation that the investment fund is attempting to build its stake to block the proposed merger with Glencore International. The Qataris are demanding a offer sweeter than the 2.8 Glencore shares per Xstrata share.

Meanwhile, sector peer ENRC was sold off after Credit Suisse downgraded its rating on the stock from 'outperform' to 'neutral', saying that earnings will weaken "substantially" over the next year. Kazakhmys, Evraz, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto and Randgold were also out of favour.

Banking peers Lloyds and Barclays were in demand, though under-fire lender Standard Chartered bucked the trend following last week's $340m settlement with US authorities surrounding alleged dealings with Iran.

Security giant G4S rose after The Financial Times said that the group would pull its operations out of Pakistan due to "an increasingly hostile environment for foreign security companies".

Johnnie Walker whiskey maker Diageo made gains on reports that it was closing in on a $3bn (£1.9bn) deal to acquire Jose Cuervo tequila. The firm already distributes the tequila brand globally.

THE FTSE 100             closed           Down      28        @      5,824 THE DOW JONES            @ 17:00         Down      28        @     13259 THE NASDAQ               @ 17:00          Down      8         @      3067 Exchange Rates GBP – USD        @      17:00            1.5704 GBP - EURO      @      17:00            1.2723