RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
9th June 2011
Evening Report
The FTSE 100 is up 0.8%, extending session gains with commodity-related plays rising amid recovering metal and oil prices. The mood was lifted by data showing that US exports rose to a new high in April and the ECB signals further rate rises by the central bank's president Jean-Claude Trichet saying "strong vigilance" is needed to contain inflation. A firmer session on Wall Street also supported the tone. No further major US data is slated for the remainder of the session.
Ongoing difficulties at the catalogue-based retailer Argos continue to plague its owner Home Retail Group, which has announced an 8.1% fall in sales at the chain to £817m in the 13 weeks to 28 May. The shares are down by more than 12%. On a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of new openings, sales at Argos were down by 9.6% from the same period the previous year during the period.
Engineer Weir Group is one of the highest risers after its earnings estimates were lifted by RBC Capital Markets. There have been reports today that two companies in China have been given fines of £1m after manufacturing illegal duplicates of Weir pumps. Automotive and aerospace engineer GKN, oilfield engineer Wood Group and industrial engineer IMI were also on the rise.
Shares in African Barrick Gold rallied after it repeated its assertion that the Tanzanian government has no plans to impose a “super-tax” on the country’s mining industry, pointing out that no such proposals were in the Budget the finance minister presented to parliament yesterday.
Spreadbetting firm IG Group expects trading revenue for the year ended 31 May to be 7% ahead of last year, as strong growth in Europe and Singapore offset a weakening performance in Japan.
THE FTSE 100 closed Up 46 @ 5855
THE DOW JONES at 4:45 Up 93 @ 12141
THE NASDAQ COMP at 4:45 Up 6 @ 2681
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.6383
GBP - EURO 1.1279
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