RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

17th May 2011 Evening Report

The FTSE 100 closed down 1.1%, after a fairly volatile session. Heavily-weighted mining issues were the biggest drag on the index. Weaker-than-expected U.S. housing starts and industrial production data also weighed on sentiment.

The Governor of the Bank of England has added weight to expectations that there will be no interest rate rise until the end of the year. Mervyn King blamed stubbornly high inflation on the increase in the standard rate of VAT in January and higher energy and import prices. The Consumer Prices Index went up to 4.5% in April, an increase of 0.5% on the month before.

India-focused energy firm Essar Energy was the best performer after it reported a “solid operating performance” in the first quarter with total generation 10% higher than the same period the year before.

Mobile telecommunications giant Vodafone was another riser after strong growth in emerging markets and the increasing popularity of smartphones helped the group post higher revenues and profits in the year to 31 March.

BP edged higher after saying that it remains committed to Russia despite confirming reports that Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft has opted not to extend the deadline for a share swap transaction.

THE FTSE 100 closed         Down 62 @ 5861

THE DOW JONES at 4:45 Down 153 @  12394

THE NASDAQ COMP at 4:45 Down 18 @   2764

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD           1.6198 GBP - EURO         1.1455