RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
31st May 2011 Evening Report
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.85%, firmly in the black. Wolseley was the
star performer, up following press reports the company plans to sell
three of its UK divisions. Elsewhere, Standard Chartered rose 2% after
Nomura upgraded the stock to buy from neutral.
Serco, the outsourcing company whose activities include running prisons and
London’s Docklands Light Railway, has announced the acquisition of India-
based service provider Intelenet for up to £385m, boosting shares higher on
Tuesday.
Standard Chartered’s share price firmed after the stock was upgraded to
a ‘buy’, from ‘neutral’, by Nomura, which says that the Asia-focused bank
is delivering growth in a challenging environment.
Irish oil giant Tullow Oil closed higher after announcing that it is to
seek a secondary listing of its shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange. The
listing will coincide with the offer of 4m Tullow shares in Ghana. The price
of the offering will be announced on Monday, 13 June.
Germany's decision to exit all of its nuclear power plants could prompt
greater activity in North Sea offshore wind operations, leading to lower
costs, which could help London-listed energy groups Centrica and Scottish
& Southern Energy, according to Matrix. Both stocks closed higher.
THE FTSE 100 CLOSED Up 51 @ 5989
THE DOW JONES at 4:50 Up 70 @ 12511
THE NASDAQ COMP at 4:50 Up 19 @ 2815
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.6444
GBP - EURO 1.1437
Tuesday 31st, May 2011 05:10pm.
