Barclays Share News (BARC)

The share price was soaring after a 12% increase in sales at global engineering firm IMI saw revenue top the £1bn mark in the first half. Revenue for the six months ended 30 June rose from £925m to £1,032m, "reflecting continued improvement in trading conditions in most of our end markets," the firm said. IMI's larger divisions, Severe Service and Fluid Power, saw the steepest sales growth. AMEC saw its share price take a tumble despite a strong performance in its mining, power and process divisions, and increased activity in the UK North Sea, which more than offset the anticipated reduction in activity levels within the company's oil sands and federal businesses in the first half of 2011. The engineering consultancy saw revenue rise 4% to £1,484m from £1,430m in the first half of last year. Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation climbed 9% to £133m from £112m last year while headline profit before tax also advanced 9%, to £126m from £116m last year. Reported profit before tax fell 11% to £101m from £114m in 2010. Banks were rallying hard, with Barclays and RBS leading the way, after big losses in recent weeks. FTSE 100 - RisersBarclays (BARC) 161.65p +8.05%IMI (IMI) 846.00p +7.70%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,015.00p +7.07%Diageo (DGE) 1,185.00p +5.99%GKN (GKN) 192.40p +4.85%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 31.54p +4.75%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 22.81p +4.30%Anglo American (AAL) 2,362.00p +3.28%International Power (IPR) 317.20p +3.22%BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,987.00p +2.82%FTSE 100 - FallersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,290.00p -4.66%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,944.00p -3.38%Kingfisher (KGF) 224.00p -3.11%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,235.00p -2.73%Amec (AMEC) 892.00p -2.57%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 414.60p -2.54%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 322.60p -2.48%Man Group (EMG) 211.40p -2.17%Vodafone Group (VOD) 164.40p -2.14%Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 281.70p -1.98%