RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
23rd May 2011 Evening Report
The FTSE 100 closed firmly in the red, down 1.9%. The index hit an intraday low
of 5833.44, its lowest point since March 24, largely on euro-zone sovereign debt
concerns.
ICAP was helped higher after Credit Suisse upgraded the interdealer broker from
'underperform' to 'outperform', saying that the group is "attractively postioned
over the long-term" with the recent share price weakness providing a good entry point.
Igas, a domestic gas producer, said it hopes to start achieving commercial gas
production this year, after reshaping the business and raising sufficient funds for
an extensive drilling program. Igas is focused on the extraction of coalbed methane,
a technically difficult method of producing gas, requiring unconventional drilling
techniques.
Property group British Land reported continuing strong demand for its retail and
office properties in spite of economic weakness as it posted a rise in profits
and net asset value (NAV) in the year to 31 March. At £256m, underlying pre-tax
profits were 9.9% higher than in the previous year. The value of the company’s
portfolio climbed by 6.9% to £9.6bn, which lifted NAV per share by 12.5% to 567p.
However, British Land closed down 2.7%.
House builder and contractor Kier Group has trimmed its portfolio of Private Finance
Initiatives. The group has sold 50% stakes in the Oldham and Norwich Schools projects
to a HICL Infrastructure Company Limited and Kajima Partnerships Limited joint venture.
THE FTSE 100 closed Down 112 @ 5835
THE DOW JONES at 4:55 Down 159 @ 12352
THE NASDAQ COMP at 4:55 Down 51 @ 2752
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.6093
GBP - EURO 1.1489
Monday 23rd, May 2011 05:10pm.
