| The Markets Strong trading in the US prompted European equity markets into gains on Tuesday, despite growing fears over the stability of Spain's financial sector. The latest developments within the country is that savings banks Ibercaja, Liberbank and Caja3 are considering a merger in a bid to shore up their balance sheets. This worsening state of the country's finances was emphasised by reports of a 9.8% year-on-year fall in retail sales in April. It is evident that consumers are suffering from a number of austerity measures taken by the government, with the figure marking the 22nd consecutive month in which sales have declined. At the London close the Dow Jones was up by 92.52 points at 12,574.35 and the Nasdaq was 18.38 points higher at 2,855.91.
In London the FTSE 100 rose by 34.8 points to 5,391.14; the FTSE 250 finished 142.59 points higher at 10,657.87; the FTSE All-Share added 20.57 points to 2,801.91; and the FTSE AIM Index climbed by 0.90 points to 701.05.  Broker Notes WH Ireland initiated coverage on Halosource (HALO) with a "speculative buy" recommendation and 36p price target, noting the clean technology firm's water treatment products have a massive potential in developing markets. The broker believes the recent appointment of Martin Coles as chief executive should be "transformational", as he has excelled in marketing dominated business such as Starbucks, where he was chief operating officer, and Reebok, Nike and PepsiCo, where he held various executive and senior management positions. In addition, the broker notes, the recent signing of a number of distributor agreements should have an immediate positive impact on revenue and profits. Halosource shares closed unchanged at 25.125p. Daniel Stewart reiterated its "buy" stance and 225p price target on GVC Holdings (GVC), believing that its 28p prospective dividend, which offers an impressive 16.6% yield, makes the shares an attractive play for retail and income funds. Meanwhile, with the business to business arm of the gambling company performing particularly well, the broker's EBITDA forecast of 15.5 million euros for the year to December 2012 leaves the shares on a multiple of just 6.1 times. GVC shares inched 1p higher to 168.5p. ADVERTISEMENT Latest small cap tip out now on WatsHot.com
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Just GBP73 for a year's membership by direct debit (GBP87.60 by card/cheque/Paypal) Click here to join WatsHot.com now Canaccord Genuity maintained its "buy" stance and 520p price target on Greggs (GRG), bringing light to the government's U-turn on the proposed pasty tax, which sees the removal of significant financial and strategic risks from the high-street bakery. The broker views the resolution as a positive catalyst for the shares, which it believes should recover to their long-term 13 times earnings multiple, up from the current 11.2 times. Greggs shares jumped 36.4p to 503p. Blue-Chips Building products supplier Wolseley (WOS) reported 4.7% growth in revenue for the three months to April to 3.06 billion pounds, with trading profit climbing by 10.3% to 139 million pounds. Growth was attributed to strong progress in the US and Canada, although this was partially offset by a slowdown in Europe. Gross margins were held intact, while a reduction in the cost base enabled the higher bottom line figure, aiding the firm to reduce its net debt from 591 million pounds to 277 million pounds. Wolseley shares slipped 20p to 2,280p. BG Group (BG.) confirmed it has signed a definitive binding agreement with Cosan S.A. Indústria e Comércio for the sale of its 60.1% holding in Comgas, Brazil's largest gas distribution company for 1.7 billion dollars. The transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approval will likely be completed by the end of 2012, and will reduce BG Group's non-current debt position - of 14 billion dollars in December 2011 - by 1.1 billion dollars. Following the completion of the deal, BG and Cosan will cooperate on evaluating and developing gas supply options in Brazil, a signal that the firm remains committed to its future in the country. BG Group shares rose 23p to 1,286p. Mid-Caps Technology services firm Logica (LOG) was another company announcing a disposal, confirming the sale of its 50% stake in payroll outsourcing business Silta Oy to private equity company Sentica Partners for an undisclosed fee. Silta is a joint-venture with Finnish insurance companies Varma Mutual and Sampo, and its sale will allow Logica to focus on its core competencies of IT and business services. Logica shares added 1.35p to close at 68.4p. Shares in De La Rue (DLAR) slipped by 32.5p to 976.5p as the security printer and paper manufacturer reported a 55% drop in pre-tax profits to 32.9 million pounds for the year to March, despite revenue climbing by 14% to 528.3 million pounds. The firm was forced to realise exceptional charges of 24.8 million pounds in reflection of significant business reorganisation, which included several site transfers. Despite this, the firm ended the period with a 14% increase in its order book to 248 million pounds, while management commented that its improvement plan was on track to achieve an operating profit in excess of 100 million pounds in the year to March 2014, which compares to 2012's 63.1 million pounds. Investment management firm Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) issued results for the six months to March, unveiling a 3.3% rise in pre-tax profits to 12.3 million pounds, with revenues remaining relatively flat at 131 million pounds. Overall, the board was pleased with the company's performance, maintaining sales despite there being considerably less activity within clients' portfolios. It is now a year since the company announced the outcome of a major strategic review of its operations, and with considerable progress made in the past twelve months on reducing overheads, the group is now moving onto the next stage, migrating to a new systems provider before the end of the year. Brewin shares inched 0.4p higher to 143.5p. Small Caps, AIM and PLUS The latest pre-clinical study of ValiRx's (VAL) VAL201 has shown the drug significantly inhibits aggressive tumour cell growth in prostate cancer. The life science company added the spread of secondary tumours in patients using the drug decreased by as much as 50%, representing a major step forward in the company's drug development. "I am absolutely thrilled by these latest findings for VAL201" commented chief executive Dr Satu Vainikka, adding "a treatment for this horrible disease...is tantalisingly closer". ValiRX shares surged by 0.1625p to 0.55p while shares in Physiomics (PYC), which has a revenue sharing deal in respect to VAL201, rose by 0.0125p to 0.1375p. Shares in DCD Media (DCD) plummeted by 1.125p to 2p upon the release of results for the year to December, the television production companying a pre-tax loss of 8.2 million pounds - against a 2010 loss of 8.4 million pounds - and a hefty 49% fall in sales to 8.1 million pounds. Despite the group's start-up business Rize USA performing well in North America, some of the firm's more substantial divisions, notably DCD Rights, suffered from a difficult trading environment. This coupled with significant restructuring costs left the company deep in negative earnings territory. Transense Technology (TRT) is reaping the benefits of its strategic partnership with Wuhan Fenjin Electric Power Technology Company, the sensor systems group announcing it has received a 500,000 dollar order for temperature monitoring systems from the Chinese firm. The order reportedly represents the first step in driving mass adoption of its propriety technology within China's high growth smart grid market. Transense shares rose by 1.125p to 8p. Intelligence gathering company Datong (DTE) confirmed its order book at the end of March stood at 2.36 million pounds, more than double the figure it reported twelve months earlier, pointing to a strong second half for the year. This was enough for investors to overlook the group's dire financial performance for the six months to March, as Datong announced a 140,000 pound operating loss from a 760,000 profit in 2011, on the back of a 39% fall in revenue to 3.84 million pounds. Datong shares surged 7.5p to 28.5p. Shares in Ithaca Energy (IAE) dived 54.25p to 121.75p as the oil and gas production company reported it had ceased discussions with all parties regarding its potential takeover. The North Sea-focused company had received a number of confidential, non-binding approaches, however the board concluded that it was unlikely that discussions with these parties would lead to an offer which fairly reflected the value of the company. | 
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