RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO
30 MARCH 2011 EVENING REPORT
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.27%, with miners, in particular Vedanta, BHP Billiton,
Rio Tinto and Antofagasta having a positive day.
At the other end of the scale Invensys was sharply lower after RBC Capital Markets
initiated coverage of the engineer with an “underperform” rating. That was the cue
for profit takers to get out of the stock after its recent good run following the
abrupt departure of its chief executive Ulf Henriksson, which prompted a revival of
bid speculation.
Meanwhile, MF Global put a hex on retail giant Marks & Spencer, sending it lower
after starting coverage with a “sell” recommendation ahead of M&S’s results next week.
Elsewhere in the FTSE 100, oil company Tullow Oil sold off two-thirds of the interests
it holds in numerous assets in Uganda for a cash sum of $2.9bn, with CNOOC and Total
snapping up a third each.
Dixons Retail slumped more than 10% after a profit warning. The PC World and Currys
owner says consumer confidence has deteriorated, particularly in Britain and Ireland.
Finally, Domino’s Pizza was also lower. Growth continued to slow at the pizza delivery
company, blamed on tough comparatives and weakness in the Republic of Ireland. Like-for-
like sales in 608 mature stores rose 4.2% in the 13 weeks to 30 March, down from 10.5%
a year ago. They’d risen 4.7% in the first seven weeks and 11.9% in 2010.
THE FTSE 100 CLOSED UP 16 @ 5948
THE DOW JONES AT 4.40 IS UP 68 @ 12,347
THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.40 IS UP 16 @ 2770
Exchange Rates
GBP – USD 1.6043
GBP - EURO 1.1379
Wednesday 30th, March 2011 05:10pm.
