RAMSEY CROOKALL
24th June 2011
Morning Report
The FTSE 100 registered sharp gains in early trading, after last night's positive reports
from Greece buoyed sentiment in London.
With Greece and the European Union settled on the contents of the austerity package to be put
before the Greek parliament next week, hopes have risen that the prospect of a default by Greece
on its loans can be put to bed. As news broke of the agreement late yesterday, the US markets
performed an abrupt volte-face, wiping out earlier losses.
Back on the home front, London and south-east house builder Berkeley Group surged on the FTSE 250
after reporting forecast-beating figures, on both the sales and the profit level, but investors
will have to wait a little longer before they they can benefit from the resumption of a dividend.
Sector peers Barratt Developments, Persimmon and Bellway are also in demand.
Miners, on the whole, are wanted, recovering from the broad sector sell-off experienced yesterday.
Blue chips Antofagasta, Randgold, Xstrata, Kazakhmys, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto made solid gains
early on.
Distribution and outsourcing firm Bunzl opened higher after saying that it is trading in line with
expectations, despite tough times in its UK and Irish markets. At constant exchange rates group
revenue in the six months to the end of April is expected to have increased 6%, due to underlying
growth of 3% and the positive impact from acquisitions, with a slight improvement in operating margin.
Gold miner African Barrick Gold has had further success with its in-fill drilling at its Tusker resource
area at the Nyanzaga project in Tanzania.
THE FTSE 100 at 9:45 Up 84 @ 5758
THE DOW JONES closed Down 59 @ 12050
THE NASDAQ COMP closed Up 17 @ 2686
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.5988
GBP - EURO 1.1215
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