RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO 7th June 2012

Evening Report

The FTSE 100 ends 1.2% ahead at 5447.79, off the day's highs but still firmly in the black. Mining stocks were in demand as any good news from China boosted the sector. Still, the index pared gains into the close, after Fed Chairman Bernanke failed to hint at any immediate quantitative easing.

Platinum refiner Johnson Matthey closed at the top of the leader board after hailing another year of strong growth as it delivered numbers ahead of market expectations and a special dividend worth a one pound a share.

Luxury brand Burberry rose after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock from neutral to outperform and lifted its target price from 1,420p to 1,650p.

Banks provided a lift throughout the day, with Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Barclays making decent gains. Deutsche Bank retained its buy recommendations for Lloyds and Barclays today, but maintained a hold on RBS.

Online betting exchange Betfair rose after confirming it has received an online gaming licence from the Spanish government. The move had been anticipated since the end of May but the decision sees the final stage of a process begun in the Spring of last year, when Spain's new gambling legislation was first introduced.

Defence firm Ultra Electronics was also on the up having bought a US-based power conversion business to link up with its defence electronics arm, EMS. Car and bike parts retailer Halfords also got a boost after UBS upgraded its rating from sell to neutral after the recent sell-off but has cut its forecasts after a 'very disappointing' start to the current fiscal year.

THE FTSE 100             closed        Up          63     @      5,447 THE DOW JONES            @ 17:00       Up         80     @     12495 THE NASDAQ               @ 17:00       Up         6      @      2850 Exchange Rates GBP – USD        @      17:00      1.5556 GBP - EURO      @      17:00      1.2379

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

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