RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO 25th July 2012

Morning Report

The FTSE 100 trades up slightly , following weak sessions in the US and Asia overnight.

Telecoms titan BT dropped in the opening hour after saying that while underlying earnings grew in the first quarter, its corporate customer-focused Global Services unit having a tough time of it in Europe and London's financial district.

Shares in speciality chemicals group Johnson Matthey slipped after the firm reported weakness in its precious metals division as a result of lower commodity prices. Sales in the division were down 8% in the first quarter.

Tullow Oil dropped despite hailing an "excellent" first half. Revenues grew by 10% on the back of increased sales volumes, average production and sustained high oil prices. Pre-tax profits surged by 48% but growth was held back by increased exploration write-offs and higher costs.  

Utilities group SSE was a faller after going ex-dividend; from today onwards, investors will not have the right to the group's latest dividend payment.

Leading the upside was outsourcing behemoth Capita which advanced after saying it is confident of growing revenue this year and beyond as it takes advantage of a buoyant outsourcing market in the UK public sector. Revenue in the first half was up 15%.

Chip designer ARM Holdings gained after reporting a 12% rise in dollar revenues (up 15% in pounds) in the first half and saying that it enters the second half with a record order backlog and robust opportunity pipeline.

Precision tool maker Renishaw jumped after posting a 7% increase in annual pre-tax profit, boosted by strong demand across all its markets for its precision measuring products.

Apple delivers a rare earnings disappointment with lower-than-expected sales of its iPhone, sending its stock down 5% in after-hours trading.

THE FTSE 100          @ 10:00    Up       7       @      5,506 THE DOW JONES         closed     Down    104      @     12617 THE NASDAQ            closed     Down     27    @      2862 Exchange Rates GBP – USD        @      10:00                1.5482 GBP - EURO      @      10:00                1.2761