by Patrick Foot, financial markets writer

The rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh needs no introduction. Each city disputes that the other has the upper hand in any form: be it culture, architecture, prestige or business.

Unsurprisingly, both of Scotland's biggest cities have a significant showing on the London Stock Exchange, with the two traditional cornerstones of their respective industries - engineering and finance - influencing the make-up of their market assets to this day.

Glasgow's engineering past is borne out mainly through Weir Group: one of the bigger companies to reside in Scotland's biggest city. The venerable firm has performed well recently, popping 25% even as its index, the FTSE 100, has failed to move upwards.

Indeed, the firm has proved that its place on the FTSE 100 - which it attained in September 2010 after a strong year of financial results - is well deserved. The business arrived on the index with a value of £2.79 billion, and has grown almost 100% since to a value of £5.8 billion.

RBC Capital have recently reiterated that they believe Weir is a 'top pick', and indicated possible growth of around 20% for the company. They have also recently announced a dividend for investors, open to all who buy shares before October 9.

Glasgow's other major engineering firm (though very different in its actual output) is also the only other firm from the city to feature on the FTSE 100. Aggreko has had a tougher time on the markets than Weir recently, stalling since spring 2013 as the strength of the pound damaged its overseas business.

It's been on a broadly upward trend since April, however, growing around 13%. Furthermore, with a set of more local events to avoid any problematic currency exposure, some high profile work undertaken at the World Cup, commonwealth games and the impending Ryder Cup, and a recent earnings call that was well ahead of consensus there's plenty to be positive about for Aggreko's short term future on the markets.

At the much smaller end of the spectrum, but still hugely important to Glasgow both financially and culturally (despite being located in Cumbernauld), is AG Barr. It may be worth less than a seventh of Weir Group and not feature on the FTSE 100 (it is present on the FTSE 250 instead), but Barr has been a very strong performer on the markets in recent years.

Since June 2012, the company has seen growth in excess of 50%, more than doubling that of the FTSE 100 and pushing the value of the business up to £750 million. The uncertainty brought about by the independence referendum appears not to have effected Barr, whose identity and sales are both placed firmly within Scottish borders.

Over in Edinburgh, the health of the capital's banking sector doesn't impact the markets as much as one may have thought. That's mainly because the majority of Edinburgh's major banking institutions -Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows and Royal Bank of Scotland among them - arrive under Lloyds Banking Group's English listing.

Of the two remaining major financial businesses, Standard Life takes the crown as largest in the city (and indeed possibly the country), with a current valuation of £9.2 billion. Lagging far behind is newly independent TSB, divested from Lloyds in an IPO earlier this year for a valuation of £1.5 billion.

Standard Life saw a strong run of growth in the second half of 2012, but since then the company has stalled somewhat. It is currently around 9% up on the beginning of 2013, but has failed to match the growth of the FTSE 100 and has had an erratic run, as any major gains are quickly reversed.

TSB, too saw a healthy arrival on the markets but has done little since, its share price growing less than 0.2% since its IPO back in June. The financial sector is yet to regain the prominence and respectability of before 2008, and that is having a negative effect on Edinburgh's position on the markets.

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