RAMSEY CROOKALL

22  July EVENING REPORT

The FTSE 100 ends 0.6% higher. The successful outcome of Thursday's euro-zone summit offered initial support but the index has pared gains as the proposals for Greece are digested and since Fitch says the aid package will put the country in "restricted default." Disappointing U.S. earnings also weigh. The highlight next week will likely be the first release of UK 2Q GDP, Tuesday. In addition, several high-profile names are reporting including BP, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and BT Group.

The financial sector was mixed on Friday, despite rising strongly early on following yesterday’s Eurozone deal to bailout Greece. While RBS bucked the trend amongst financials - with the part-nationalised bank gaining 2.36% to trade at 36.90p – other financial shares lost some of their earlier buoyancy as investors looked to lock in some profits following yesterday’s gains. Lloyds and insurance peers Prudential, Old Mutual and Legal & General were prominent among the fallers.

Silver mining giant Fresnillo, too, was a high riser tracking silver prices upwards. Silver futures were 2.52% up at $39.93 at 14:12 on Friday afternoon in London (09:31 in New York).

Drugs giants AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline fell into the red after UBS cut its rating on the European pharmaceutical sector from ‘small overweight’ to ‘neutral’, saying the defensive sector that benefited from the economic soft patch and the sovereign debt crisis will be hit by the turnaround in these lead indicators.

Vodafone was firmer after reporting that revenue from its core business grew by 1.5% in the second quarter of 2011.

Outsourcing giant Capita was in demand after the acquisition of the pensions administration and software business of NorthgateArinso for £27.5m.

THE FTSE 100 closed                    Up             35         @      5935

THE DOW JONES at 4:45                  Down           31         @      12692                             NASDAQ COMP at 4:45                    Up             5          @      2840                                     Exchange Rates

GBP – USD           1.6319 GBP - EURO          1.1356