Retailers trigger FTSE fall despite banking boost

The top share index in the UK dropped again on Thursday as a run of poor results from the retail sector left their mark. By the end of the session, the FTSE 100 was lower by 0.2 per cent, shedding just over 8 points to close for the day on 5662.

Chris Bradshaw
shareprices.com - Friday, January 13, 2012

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Sainsbury (J)

A string of solid eurozone Bond auctions sent sentiment soaring in the market with banks one of the top sectors. However, reality soon got a grip on trading when the results from the retailers were announced. A poor Christmas lead up left many with lower than expected sales for the quarter, sending their share price plunging.

Tesco was the heaviest casualty of the day, nosediving by a whopping 16 per cent to reach its lowest level in nearly three years. The drop was caused by the supermarket giant warning that profits would not be as generous in 2012/2013 because of its attempts to regain its share of the market with a series of discounts and price cuts. Its peers Sainsburys and Morrisons fell by 5.4 and 6.00 respectively. Marks and Spencer fell by 2 per cent.

At the opposite end of the leaderboard the banking sector enjoyed a storming day. Royal Bank of Scotland was the highest climber, rising by 5.55 per cent. The next highest climber in the industry was Lloyds, higher by 2.38 per cent. HSBC was one of the few bankers not to perform quite so well, dropping by 0.8 per cent after it was downgraded by a broker.

 

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