RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
2nd June 2011
Evening Report
The FTSE 100 closed down 1.4% with mining stocks weighing amid fears over global economic growth. Looking ahead to Friday, the key publication will be US nonfarm payrolls data.
Full-year profits from speciality chemicals group Johnson Matthey came in ahead of market expectations with good performances in all parts of the business. However, investors seemed underwhelmed as the stock sunk on the blue chip index.
The miners have fallen lower, as metals prices declined. Copper, gold and silver prices have fallen today, with the later commodity seeing a 2.65% drop. Rio Tinto, Xstrata, Fresnillo and Antofagasta all closed in the red.
The warm weather and recent string of bank holidays boosted sales at Kingfisher in the 13 weeks to 30 April, but shares were under a cloud. Prime markets confirmed its ‘sell’ rating on the stock, saying that the share have climbed “too far too quickly” over the last couple of months.
Shares Burberry were off the mark, despite Credit Suisse raising its target price from 1,120p to 1,310p for the luxury brands. The broker has kept its ‘neutral’ rating, saying that “its rich valuation remains the main impediment for us to turn more positive considering the greater upside we see elsewhere in the sector.”
Advertising firm WPP closed slightly lower despite reporting a sharp rise in revenues in the first four months of 2011. “The world continues to move at very different speeds, with revenues in the BRICs countries up over 17% in the first four months, and the Next 11 up almost 14%, showing the strongest growth, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom,” the company said.
THE FTSE 100 closed Down 80 @ 5847
THE DOW JONES at 4:45 Down 80 @ 12210
THE NASDAQ COMP at 4:45 Flat @ 2769
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.6315
GBP - EURO 1.1322
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