LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Flirts With Fresh Record As Morrisons Leads Retailers Higher
09 Gennaio 2018 - 10:17AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Supermarket chain 'broke the Debenhams-then-Mothercare double
whammy of truly terrible post-Christmas updates'
U.K. stocks pushed higher Tuesday, with the blue-chip index on
course for another record as Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC led
gains in retail shares following its upbeat Christmas sales
update.
What the market is doing: The FTSE 100 index rose 0.3% to
7,721.22, just shy of its all-time closing high of 7,724.22 notched
last week. All sectors rose Tuesday, with the basic materials group
putting in the stronger performance. On Monday, the index fell 0.4%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-eases-back-from-record-as-retailers-home-builders-fall-2018-01-08).
The pound traded at $1.3553, down from $1.3568 late Monday in
New York.
Read:These 5 charts are all 'flashing green' for more U.K. stock
records
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-5-charts-are-all-flashing-green-for-more-uk-stock-records-2018-01-08)
What's driving the market: The retail sector was in the
spotlight, as Morrisons said comparable sales during the Christmas
season rose 2.8%.
"Helping the FTSE out was a giddy Morrisons, which broke the
Debenhams-then-Mothercare double whammy of truly terrible
post-Christmas updates with a rather impressive statement of its
own," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, in a
note.
Meanwhile, Kantar Worldpanel said British consumers spent GBP1
billion more during this year's Christmas period than last year's,
and that the Friday before Christmas in 2017 was the busiest
shopping day ever recorded even as stores offered the lowest level
of promotions since 2009.
Separately, the British Retail Consortium said U.K. retail sales
in December rose by 0.6% on a like-for-like basis from December
2016, when they had increased 1%. But comparable sales for non-food
items fell 1.9% over the three months to December, the lowest since
March 2009.
Corporates: Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC shares (MRW.LN)
climbed 3.8% as the company said like-for-like sales, excluding
fuel, rose 2.8% during the Christmas period. The company, the first
U.K. supermarket operator to report its trading performance after
the Christmas season, also backed its fiscal 2018 guidance
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/morrisons-sales-rise-28-at-christmas-2018-01-09).
Morrison's topped the FTSE 100, with shares of rival J Sainsbury
PLC (SBRY.LN) picking up 1.8%, and Marks & Spencer Group PLC
(MKS.LN) gaining 1.6%.
But Tesco PLC (TSCO.LN) fell 1.2% even as Kantar said Tesco was
the fastest growing of the big four supermarkets during the 12
weeks to Dec. 31, as sales rose 3.1%. Tesco's third-quarter and
Christmas update is due Thursday.
British American Tobacco PLC shares (BATS.LN) were up 0.8% after
the company said it expects a 6% increase in 2018 per-share
earnings
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bat-expects-6-earnings-boost-from-us-tax-reform-2018-01-09),
stemming from U.S. tax cuts.
Home builder Persimmon PLC (PSN.LN) said revenue rose 9% in 2017
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/persimmon-sees-2017-profit-ahead-of-views-2018-01-09)
to 3.42 billion pounds ($4.64 billion), and that it expects pretax
profit for the year to be modestly ahead of market consensus. But
its shares were down 1.3%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 09, 2018 04:02 ET (09:02 GMT)
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