RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
6 APRIL 2011 Evening Report
The FTSE 100 has closed up 0.61% after a strong day for the
retail sector. The banking sector was also on the front foot
following a well supported Portuguese Bond auction.
Brokers have been queuing up today to praise the results from
Marks & Spencer after the bellwether of the UK retail sector
delivered a forecast busting trading update.
The high street stalwart saw a sharp drop in like-for-like sales
of clothes and other non-food items in the 13 weeks to 2 April,
though the fall wasn't as severe as expected and overall sales
growth was maintained.
M&S shares led the market higher, supported by sector peers such as
fashion chain Next, department store Debenhams and supermarket Tesco.
Tesco closed up 3.7p at £3.93.
Financial software provider Misys reported a 7% rise in year on year
revenue in the third quarter ended 28 February 2011, following strong
demand for its products, and said it was poised to meet medium-term
targets, sending shares higher.
Budget airline EasyJet was flying higher after reporting that its
flew 4.4m passengers in March, 11.9% more than the same time the
year before
Finally, Norwegian Airlines has ordered its first ever Rolls-Royce engines.
Norwegian has selected Rolls-Royce’s Trent 100 engines to power nine
Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline has also signed a $450m
Rolls-Royce TotalCare long-term engine services contract. Rolls Royce
closed marginally up for the day, up half a penny at £6.27.
THE FTSE 100 CLOSED UP 34 @ 6041
THE DOW JONES AT 4:45 IS UP 15 @ 12,409
THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4:45 IS UP 6 @ 2798
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1. 6305
GBP - EURO 1.1370
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Wednesday 6th, April 2011 05:10pm.
