RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

9th  November 2011

Evening  Report

The FTSE 100 closes down 1.9%, amid worries about Italy's mounting debt pile and political limbo, and as Italian bond yields surge to euro-era highs of 7%.  

Shares in insurance firm Admiral fell by more than 26% after it warned 2011 profits would be at the lower end of expectations due to a jump in personal injury claims. In its third quarter statement the firm had said it expected to report record profits for the full year, around 10% higher than the previous year.

Explorer Tullow Oil's share price followed suit after the firm released a bullish update for the third quarter, but said that slower than expected production in Ghana had forced it to cut targets again. "Group production for 2011 is now expected to average 79-81,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) due to slower than expected ramp up from the Jubilee field," the firm said.

HSBC, the UK’s biggest bank, also fell after it  saw a massive drop in underlying pre-tax profits in the three months to the end of September.

Meanwhile Sainsbury, the owner of Britain’s number three supermarket chain, rose after seeing profits before tax rise to £354m in the first six months of this year, a 6.6% improvement on the same point last year and a touch above analysts expectations of around £350m.

Defensive stocks were in demand as investors moved away from riskier assets. United Utilities, International Power and Smith & Nephew were among the few risers.

Panmure Gordon cut its target on Smith & Nephew from 750p to 640p but retained its buy rating on the stock, keeping the share price in the top spot.

Vodafone also rose after Nomura increased its target on the stock from 215p to 220p.

THE FTSE 100 Closed                     Down    106     @   5,460

THE DOW JONES         @ 16.40                 Down    208     @   11,961

THE NASDAQ COMP  @ 16.40                 Down     57     @    2,670

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD     @ 16.40         1.5951 GBP - EURO    @ 16.40         1.1729