UK MARKET TALK ROUNDUP: SHARES GAINING

30th Jul 2010 09:59

Stocks on the rise in the UK today. Compiled by Dow Jones Newswires Markets Desk, [email protected] Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9464 [email protected] 0859 GMT [Dow Jones] Royal Bank of Scotland raises Reed Elsevier (REL.LN) target price to 635p from 605p. Says the group's 1H earnings beat low market expectations. Also, "CEO Erik Engstrom gave a confident performance at the analyst meeting, which should go some way to dispelling medium-term concerns," it adds. Says that Reed's assets are late cycle and the road to recovery will likely be long, "but with a bottom apparently having been reached, we believe Reed shares are a more investable proposition." Has a buy rating. Shares +0.5% at 555p. ([email protected]) 0805 GMT [Dow Jones] British Airways' (BAY.LN) first quarter results highlight a feeling of "back to business as usual," says analyst Douglas McNeill at Charles Stanley Securities. Says the sense of crisis that surrounded the company the past couple of years is now fading. There's no longer the need to "slash capacity and chop out costs," says McNeill. Says yield improvements are key and very good, but whether BA will be able to keep up the pace will be questionable as it will face difficult comparisons later in the year. Shares +3% at 223p. ([email protected]) Contact us in London. +44-20-7842-9288 [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 30, 2010 04:59 ET (08:59 GMT)