RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO April 4th  2012

Morning Report

The FTSE 100 is down  1%, moving lower as investors continue to demonstrate disappointment with Tuesday's FOMC minutes which dashed hopes for further QE in the US. As a result, cyclicals such as banks and miners bear the brunt of the losses. Upbeat UK economic data has been overshadowed. Service sector PMI has joined both the manufacturing and construction PMIs in surprising on the upside. Rather than fall as the market was expecting, the services PMI actually rose to 55.3 in March from 53.8.

Pearson fell after going ex-dividend. Wolseley, Bodycote, Interserve and Phoenix Group were also among the stocks trading without the rights to their latest dividends.

Part-nationalised banking peers Lloyds and RBS were making headlines after the Taxpayers' Alliance said that the UK government should offload their stakes in the lenders and stop gambling with public money.

Shares in power producer International Power advanced after the board rejected the indicative 390p-a-share offer from majority shareholder GDF SUEZ, saying that it undervalues the company.

Other risers included the pharmaceuticals stocks with Shire, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca eking out moderate gains. Meanwhile, mining peers Vedanta, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys were heading the other way.

Waste disposal expert Shanks Group fell despite saying that results for the fiscal year just ended should be in line with management expectations.

Other risers included the pharmaceuticals stocks with Shire, GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca eking out moderate gains. Meanwhile, mining peers Vedanta, Antofagasta and Kazakhmys were heading the other way.

THE FTSE 100            @ 10:00         Down          60     @    5,779 THE DOW JONES           closed          Down          64     @    13199 THE NASDAQ              closed          Down         6      @    3113

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD       @      10:00               1.5889 GBP - EURO     @      10:00               1.2063



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