RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO EVENING REPORT

11 February 2011

In the financial sector Barclays fell on a “sell” recommendation from Evolution Securities ahead of the banking giant’s results next week.

Elsewhere, retailers were among the heaviest fallers after some underwhelming sales figures from the John Lewis. As the department store itself put it, the 1% rise in sales in the week to February 5 from the same period last year was “not a large one.”

Marks & Spencer and fellow fashion retailer Next came under pressure, with the rise in cotton prices to a new high adding to their woes.

Sticking with the John Lewis theme, online delivery service Ocado has tumbled after it confirmed that the department store’s pension fund, an 11% shareholder, has sold its stake now that the lock-up period following last July's float has ended. Shares in Ocado had risen 50% over the last month prior to the John Lewis sell-off.

Finally, the continued civil unrest in Egypt weighed down Centamin Egypt. The shares rose sharply late yesterday afternoon on fallacious reports that unpopular president Hosni Mubarak was planning to step down.

THE FTSE 100 CLOSED UP 42 @ 6062 THE DOW JONES AT 4.30 IS UP 13 @ 12,243 THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.30 IS UP 9 @ 2799

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1.6004 GBP - EURO 1.1816