Lloyds Share News (LLOY)

Resolution was the standout performer in the sector today after Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its rating on the stock from 'neutral' to 'buy'. The US broker cited an attractive dividend yield as one of the reasons behind the move. Lloyds was also rising on the back of reports the the company is looking to sell its 60% stake in St James's Place, a move that would raise around £1bn. Security group G4S was in demand after saying its financial position continues to be strong and it "remains on track to meet its cash conversion target of 85% of PBITA [profit before interest, tax and amortisation] for the full year." Chip designer ARM jumped after saying that it is leading a consortium which is to acquire the patent portfolio of MIPS Technologies, the US semiconductor design company, in order to reduce the risk of expensive patent infringement suits in the chip design industry. Babcock's share price took a hit today despite the engineering support services group reporting a solid set of broadly 'in-line' first-half numbers. With shares performing extremely well in the year-to-date, analysts believe that the stock is now up with events. Investec nalyst John Lawson said: "Babcock has been one of the best performers in the sector for some time and, whilst today's figures were good, we move from 'buy' to 'hold', mostly a valuation call after a strong run up." Admiral has continued to loose steam after disappointing with its third quarter revenues at the end of last week. Emerging markets bank Standard Chartered was a heavy faller after Credit Suisse downgraded the stock from 'neutral' to 'underperform' and cut its target price from 1,460p to 1,340p. FTSE 100 - RisersResolution Ltd. (RSL) 239.00p +8.05%Evraz (EVR) 252.10p +4.04%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 44.35p +3.50%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 144.30p +2.85%G4S (GFS) 267.80p +2.68%ARM Holdings (ARM) 711.00p +2.30%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 396.70p +2.27%ITV (ITV) 89.30p +2.23%Croda International (CRDA) 2,216.00p +1.89%Standard Life (SL.) 303.50p +1.85%FTSE 100 - FallersBabcock International Group (BAB) 953.50p -3.59%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 315.40p -1.84%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,052.00p -1.41%Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,465.00p -1.21%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,426.00p -0.90%Wood Group (John) (WG.) 858.50p -0.35%Kazakhmys (KAZ) 715.00p -0.35%CRH (CRH) 1,194.00p -0.33%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,826.00p -0.27%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,566.00p -0.25%