RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

EVENING REPORT 12th January 2011

The FTSE 100 continued to keep its head above water, not to mention 6,000, but it is largely thanks to the strength of miners and financial stocks, with the latter in demand after Portugal’s bond auction proved relatively successful.

HSBC was the best performing financial, helped by a “buy” recommendation from Barclays Capital, but fellow banks Standard Chartered and Barclays were also wanted, as are insurers Legal & General and Aviva as eurozone debt contagion fears recede. Elsewhere, fund manager Gartmore Group’s ill-starred and brief stint as a publicly listed company is set to come to an end. The company’s board has agreed to a £335.3m takeover by rival Henderson Group in a deal that values each Gartmore share at 92.1p. Shares in both companies have soared. SuperGroup, the trendy fashion retailer predicted top-end profits following its best ever Christmas, almost doubling retail sales during the nine weeks to 2 January. The shares are sharply higher.

Centrica's appeal to have competition restrictions lifted from its Rough gas storage facility in the North Sea has been rejected by the Competition Commission.

Conveyor belt maker Fenner, another strong performer today, saw a sharp increase in first quarter profitability compared to the same period last year.

Finally, Barratt Developments sold its homes for 6% more during the first half as the number of houses sold made up a bigger share of the total, although volume growth for the year will be “limited”.

THE FTSE 100 CLOSED UP 36 @ 6050

THE DOW JONES AT 4.30 IS UP 98 @ 11,770

THE NASDAQ COMP AT 4.30 IS UP 17 @ 2733

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD 1.57 GBP – EUR 1.20

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