RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO LIMITED

22nd March 2012

Evening Report The FTSE 100 closed down 0.8%. Poor manufacturing numbers out of China and the euro zone, as well as disappointing UK retail sales, served as a reminder of how fragile the recovery is. Miners beared the brunt of the selling.

Shares in gold miner Randgold Resources sank into the bottom spot on the back of reports of a military coup in Mali, the country where two of its three main projects are located. According to media reports, rebel troops have taken over Malian state radio and television and have announced that they have seized control of the country.

Sector peers Fresnillo and Vedanta were both also seen taking a plunge as a result of gloomy Chinese manufacturing data out.

Meanwhile, DIY retailer Kingfisher , B & Qs parent company, was leading the risers after its 'Delivering Value' initiative did what it said on the tin, with the full year dividend up by a quarter. The group announced a 23.8% increase in the final dividend to 6.37p from 5.145p the year before, meaning the total payment in respect of the year to January 31st was up 25.0% to 8.84p from 7.07p the year before, ahead of market expectations of 8.44p.

Pharmaceuticals titan GlaxoSmithKline was up after having confirmed that it will invest £500m in the UK to build a new factory and create 1,000 new jobs. The announcement follows the Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement that he wanted to encourage investment in R&D and manufacturing by reducing the rate of corporation tax.

Alongside other utility stocks, United Utilities was higher on the back of the Chancellor's announcement that the planned sequence of cuts in corporation tax would be accelerated. Nomura thinks this should be a "small positive for UK utilities paying majority UK corporation tax".

THE FTSE 100 closed                         Down             46         @      5,845 THE DOW JONES @ 17:00                       Down            60         @    13063 THE NASDAQ @ 17:00                          Down             12         @      3063

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD       @      17:00                                 1.5812 GBP - EURO     @      17:00                                 1.1987

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