RAMSEY CROOKALL

1st August

Morning Report

The FTSE 100 is up 1.26%, nudging just a touch lower following the release of weaker-than-expected UK PMI manufacturing data. The data shows a contraction in manufacturing activity in July. The reading comes ahead of the Bank of England's rate announcement this Thursday. In stocks news, HSBC shares are up 3.2% after well-received 1H results. The biggest gainer on the FTSE though is Intertek, up 5.6%, after better-than-expected results. US ISM manufacturing and construction spending figures announced this afternoon may provide some direction in the afternoon session.

HSBC Holdings PLC announced that it will cut around 5,000 jobs as part of its plan to cut costs, as it reported flat first-half revenue of $35.7 billion. Testing and inspections firm Intertek was the high riser, after revenue in the first half of 2011 rose 17%. "Our businesses continue to perform well overall, with strength in some areas offsetting slower growth in others," said Wolfhart Hauser, chief executive of Intertek.

The miners are among the best performers, with Kazakhmys, Vedanta Resources, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Antofagasta rising higher.

Outsourcing behemoth Serco was in demand after it signed a new hospital services contract, worth A$1.3bn (£850m), in Australia.

Net rental income at retail-focued real estate group Hammerson came in 2.8% higher, up 3.9% on a like-for-like basis, driven by lettings and rent reviews in the UK and indexation in France. Shares were 2% higher in early trading.

Essar Energy climber higher after announcing that it has completed the $350m acquisition of the oil refinery and other associated assets at Stanlow from Shell UK.

THE FTSE 100 at 10:30                 Up          73         @       5888

THE DOW JONES closed                  Down         96         @       12143 

NASDAQ COM closed                     Down         9          @        2756                                       Exchange Rates GBP – USD           1.6434 GBP - EURO         1.1387