RAMSEY CROOKALL

14th July

Morning Report

The FTSE 100 is down 0.6%, remaining in the red, as investors turn their attention to the issue of US debt, as well as European debt. Petrofac is the biggest faller, down 2.6% after Barclays Capital downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight.

AMEC is down 1%, on the same downgrade. Meanwhile, tech stocks Autonomy and ARM Holdings are down 2%, following a disappointing update from European peer Software AG. On the economic calendar, euro-zone harmonized CPI is announced this morning with  US initial jobless claims, PPI and retail sales announced this afternoon.

Turning to stocks, Associated British Foods is bucking the downward trend. It said its outlook for the full year is in line with expectations as its food arm and budget clothing retail chain Primark continue to perform well.

House builder Barratt Developments confirmed its return to profitability, saying it expects to deliver a full-year profit before tax and exceptional items of around £40m, compared to a loss the year before of £33.0m.

Daily Mail publisher DMGT is under pressure after saying it is putting the price of its main newspaper up by 5p to 55p as it seeks to cope with rising newsprint prices and declines in the advertising market and circulations.

THE FTSE 100 at 10:00          Down 32 @ 5873         

THE DOW JONES closed           Up   44 @ 1249                

                               NASDAQ COMP closed             Up               15    @    2796 

                                Exchange Rates GBP – USD           1.6128 GBP - EURO        1.1331