RAMSEY CROOKALL

20th July

Morning Report

The FTSE 100 is up 0.8%, with technology stocks leading following recent corporate results from the US tech sector. ARM Holdings is up 4.5% and Imagination Technologies up 11%, post strong gains on Apple's market beating results, a day after US tech giant IBM pleased the market with earnings. In data, the BOE meeting minutes show the bank voted 7-2 to hold its key lending rate steady at a record low at 0.5%. Euro-zone confidence data is announced later this afternoon.

Mining giant BHP Billiton is higher  after it was able to achieve another iron ore output record in the year ended 30 June, its eleventh consecutive annual production record. The firm said that annual production records were achieved across four commodities and ten operations "as a result of our strategy to invest throughout the economic cycle." Fellow miners Lonmin, ENRC and Rio Tinto are also among the best performers.

Barclays is making gains of over 2%, attempting to claw its way back from the recent sell-off. Shares are still 5% lower than they were this time last week.

Drugs giant AstraZeneca fell lower after it (along with Bristol-Myers Squibb) received a blow when the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Advisory Committee rejected their jointly-developed diabetes drug, dapagliflozin.

London Stock Exchange (LSE) rose higher after the stock markets operator put behind it the disappointment of its failed merger with its Canadian counterpart TMX to announce a strong start to its financial year. "With an increase in total income of 14% and growth in many business areas, these strong first quarter results confirm that we continue to make good progress," said Xavier Rolet, the chief executive. THE FTSE @ 10.15 uP 30 @ 5820

THE DOW JONES closed                 Up            202               @      12587                             NASDAQ COMP closed                   Up            61                @      2826                                              Exchange Rates

GBP – USD          1.6119 GBP - EURO         1.1363