RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

12th June 2012 Evening Report The FTSE 100 closed up 0.8% at 5473.74, outperforming European peers despite continued concerns over the euro zone. Heavily-weighted miners helped provide support to the index.

Interdealer broker ICAP was a high riser of the day after Faraday Research labelled the stock as a 'buy', saying that the Greek election this coming weekend is the catalyst "to really get things moving" - ICAP tends to benefit from increased volatility in markets. Analyst David Lowery said that while a Greek exit from the Eurozone may be back for the global economy, "it would probably be fantastic news for ICAP".

Mining stocks were mixed on Tuesday, despite the improving data from China. Precious metals peers Fresnillo and Randgold Resources were in demand, as were Anglo American and BHP Billiton, while Evraz and Polymetal were among the worst performers.

Glencore and Xstrata made gains with the potential merger partners being boosted by positive comments from Jefferies. The broker said that certain factors have reduced the pressure on Glencore to bump up its offer for Xstrata and said that the merger on the original terms has a high probability of success.

Oxford Instruments shares took a significant hit despite its full year results coming in ahead of expectations. The provider of high technology tools and systems for research and industry delivered adjusted profit before tax of £42.0m in the year to March 31st, up 60% on the previous year's £26.2m and better than the £39.8m the market had been expecting. West House Securities views the company as ideally positioned to exceed its estimates in spite of the current difficult economic conditions.

THE FTSE 100             closed          Up            41          @      5,473 THE DOW JONES            @ 17:00         Up            98         @     12,510 THE NASDAQ               @ 17:00         Up            25          @      2,834 Exchange Rates GBP – USD         @ 17:00                                  1.5560 GBP - EURO       @ 17:00                                  1.2469

*** RBS completed a 1 for 10 Consolidation 6th June 2012 ***