RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

12th May 2011 Evening Report

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.5%, as investors moved out of commodities on worries about demand, causing energy and mining stocks to decline sharply. The London index, however, closed off its session lows as commodity prices recovered somewhat, despite remaining weak on the whole. US data was a mixed bag with retail sales and PPI both at the weaker side of expectations, but weekly jobless claims were on the brighter side.

The insurance sector was declined today, led by insurance giant Old Mutual, whose life assurance sales fell by 4% in the first quarter, primarily as a result of tough comparators in its Italian division. 3i lead the risers in the FTSE 100. The private equity group said investment increased to £719 million in the year to 31 March, up from £386m in 2010. Elsewhere, Telecoms giant BT saw underlying profit before tax surge 21% in the final quarter of its financial year (Q1 2011) from a year earlier, despite revenue easing 6% year on year. The full year dividend has been hiked 7% to 7.4p.

Finally, oil and gas firm Tullow struggled today, even after it said it has performed very strongly so far in 2011, with "excellent results" from its drilling programme in Ghana, while significant progress has been made in Uganda.

THE FTSE 100 closed         Down 31 @ 5944

THE DOW JONES at 4:45 Down 11 @  12618

THE NASDAQ COMP at 4:45 Flat @   2845

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD           1.6311 GBP - EURO         1.1440