RAMSEY CROOKALL 25th October 2011 Evening Report

The FTSE 100 closed 0.4% lower, as investors position themselves ahead of Wednesday's E.U. summit. A couple of uninspiring data releases in the U.S., in the form of Case-Shiller house prices and consumer confidence, weighed. Weak 3Q earnings from 3M added to the downbeat mood, as did news that Wednesday's pre-summit Ecofin meeting is cancelled. Heavily-weighted miners are among the worst performers, following strong gains the previous session; Lonmin closed down 2.9% with Glencore off 2.6%.

Oil giant BP PLC was the top gainer in the FTSE. It rallied 4.36% in London after the oil giant reported a surge in third-quarter net profit and raised its target for asset sales to $45 billion from $30 billion currently.

Shares of BG Group PLC rose 4.32% after the oil and gas producer said its third-quarter net profit rose to $1.06 billion from $849 billion in the same period a year ago, buoyed by higher energy prices.

Meanwhile, shares in Reckitt Benckiser took a tumble on Tuesday after its chief executive warned of slower growth in its pharmaceuticals division. In a report on its third quarter results, CEO Rakesh Kapoor, admitted that year-on-year growth is likely to slow in the fourth quarter as it nears the anniversary of the SSL International acquisition.

ARM rose 2% ,as revenues grew 20% in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period of 2010. Sterling revenues rose to £120.2m from £100.4m the year before

THE FTSE 100 closed Down 22 @ 5525 THE DOW JONES at 16:40 Down 114 @ 11799 NASDAQ COMP at 16:40 Down 36 @ 2663

Commodities

Spot Gold $/Oz $1691 Up 2.37 % Brent Crude Oil $110.49 Down 0.63 %

Exchange Rates GBP – USD 1.5978 GBP - EURO 1.1495