London close: Supermarket share slump limits market gains
UK supermarkets held back London shares on Thursday after beleaguered Tesco reported lower first half profits and said the hole in its accounts was bigger than thought.
Britvic
835.50p
12:34 19/04/24
Foxtons Group
51.40p
12:34 19/04/24
FTSE 100
7,838.29
12:40 19/04/24
Ladbrokes Coral Group
173.50p
16:04 28/03/18
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets
286.40p
16:55 26/10/21
Premier Foods
148.60p
12:19 19/04/24
Sainsbury (J)
258.00p
12:39 19/04/24
Tesco
280.60p
12:40 19/04/24
Unilever
3,806.00p
12:40 19/04/24
Shares in Tesco led the FTSE 100 Index fallers with a 12p slump to 171p as the group said trading profits dropped 39.4% at constant exchange rates to £937m, although topping consensus forecasts of £853m.
The group, whose chairman Richard Broadbent announced he was stepping down, denied it was working on a rights issue but said it may need to bolster its balance sheet.
Tesco’s rivals also took a hit, with Sainsbury’s dropping 4.4p to 237.2p and Morrisons declined 4.8p to 153.1p.
Consumer goods groups were also out of favour, with Unilever reversing 94p to 2440p after flagging up weak markets and Premier Foods dipping 5p to 29.25p as it revealed a hit from shoppers switching to discounters from the Big Four supermarkets.
UK retail sales figures did nothing to lift the gloom engulfing the sector as the Office for National Statistics said sales fell 0.3% last month against August, although they still racked up their 18th month in a row of year-on-year growth.
Still, the Footsie closed 19.42 points up at 6419.15 as traders took heart from strong German manufacturing data. There was also upbeat news from China where HSBC manufacturing PMI data came in slightly better than expected at 50.4.
Back in London, estate agency Foxtons backtracked 40.3p to 165p after the recently floated company warned on annual profits as the British housing market slowed.
Soft drinks maker Britvic fizzed up 18p to 654p after forecasting better-than-expected annual profits as a strong international performance made up for weaker weather-hit sales in Europe.
But Ladbrokes was on a loser, down 7.9p at 121.1p, as the bookie reported higher third quarter profits but said a new online gambling tax regime and other tax hikes would cost it about £50m next year.
Market Movers
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FTSE 100 6,419.15 +0.30%
FTSE 250 15,135.99 -0.22%
FTSE 100 - Risers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 384.00p +3.45%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 2,595.00p +2.89%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,412.00p +2.54%
CRH (CRH) 1,377.00p +1.62%
Severn Trent (SVT) 1,994.00p +1.53%
Royal Mail (RMG) 455.50p +1.52%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 196.85p +1.42%
Diageo (DGE) 1,774.50p +1.34%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 992.50p +1.28%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 379.00p +1.26%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Tesco (TSCO) 171.00p -6.56%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 505.50p -4.17%
Unilever (ULVR) 2,440.00p -3.71%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 153.10p -3.04%
Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,082.00p -2.11%
Smiths Group (SMIN) 1,159.00p -1.95%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 237.20p -1.82%
BAE Systems (BA.) 443.70p -1.25%
ITV (ITV) 199.40p -1.24%
Anglo American (AAL) 1,340.00p -1.22%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Cineworld Group (CINE) 337.50p +6.27%
Inchcape (INCH) 667.00p +5.29%
RPS Group (RPS) 240.40p +3.49%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 2,530.00p +3.27%
TalkTalk Telecom Group (TALK) 291.50p +3.08%
Synthomer (SYNT) 222.00p +3.02%
Britvic (BVIC) 654.00p +2.83%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 739.50p +2.71%
BTG (BTG) 724.00p +2.62%
Playtech (PTEC) 756.50p +2.58%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Foxtons Group (FOXT) 165.00p -19.63%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 121.10p -6.12%
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 269.20p -3.86%
Countrywide (CWD) 464.00p -3.85%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 594.50p -3.80%
Serco Group (SRP) 282.50p -3.42%
Savills (SVS) 612.50p -3.31%
Infinis Energy (INFI) 211.00p -3.21%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 89.00p -3.21%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 236.70p -3.19%