ITV edges higher on hopes of improving advertising picture

follow Moody’s by downgrading UK banks across the board. Barclays is down 8.25p to 178.75p, Lloyds Banking Group is 1.155p lower at 35.09p while Royal Bank of Scotland is off 0.35p to 25.46p.

Ian Gordon at Evolution Securities continued his positive view of the sector:

The simple conclusion was (and remains) that, unlike their European peers, no UK bank needs to raise a penny of additional capital through fresh issuance. Given that this fact is not yet fully recognised, grudging acceptance will in itself be sufficient to drive the UK bank sub-sector still higher over time.

Among the day’s disasters is mid-cap engineer Renishaw, down 181p to 847p – a near 18% decline – after it reported lower than expected revenue in the first quarter and a decline in profits from £15.1m to £13.6m. This was partly due to a slowdown in products for the electronics industry. It warned about the current uncertainties in the global economy, and said it would be closely monitoring costs and recruitment strategy. It is reviewing its healthcare business.