6th Jan 2026 09:08
(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened higher on Tuesday, as the FTSE 100 extended gains from its record close on Monday after Next reported better than hoped sales during the Christmas period.
The FTSE 100 index opened up 58.23 points, 0.6%, at 10,062.80. The FTSE 250 was down 0.86 points at 22,593.07, and the AIM All-Share was up 1.35 points, 0.2%, at 776.20.
The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 1,009.37, the Cboe UK 250 was 0.1% higher at 19,666.10, and the Cboe Small Companies was down 0.1% at 17,957.77.
In European equities on Tuesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.2%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was slightly higher.
Sterling was at USD1.3553 on Tuesday morning, up from USD1.3516 at the London equities close on Monday. The euro was higher at USD1.1730 from USD1.1713. Against the yen, the dollar was slightly lower at JPY156.36 versus JPY156.41.
UK shop price inflation will "remain sticky" in 2026, having increased in December, the British Retail Consortium reported.
Inflation picked up 0.7% in December, accelerating from 0.6% in November and in line with the 0.7% three-month average, the BRC said.
"Shop price inflation edged up in December as food prices rose at a faster rate," commented BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson.
"Nonetheless, shoppers still found plenty of value across many Christmas essentials including vegetables, cheeses, and alcohol, helping households to enjoy the festive season."
Mike Watkins, head of retailer & business insight at NielsenIQ, added: "This Christmas, shoppers remained cautious, prioritising affordability...Retailers worked hard to encourage spending by keeping supply chain price increases to a minimum, and many food retailers reduced prices in December to support demand."
Meanwhile, investors remain focused on developments between the US and Venezuela.
US President Donald Trump said he does not expect a new election in Venezuela within the next 30 days.
"We have to fix the country first. You can't have an election," he told US broadcaster NBC News. "It's going to take a period of time," he said, adding: "We have to nurse the country back to health."
In the US on Monday, Wall Street ended higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.2%, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite ended up 0.7%.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was at 4.18% on Tuesday, widened slightly from 4.17% on Monday. The yield on the 30-year was at 4.87%, widened from 4.86%.
In Asia on Tuesday, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo was up 1.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite was 1.5% higher, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gained 1.4%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney lost 0.5%.
In London, shares in Next climbed 3.2% and led the FTSE 100 index as it said UK sales and growth in its international business surpassed expectations as it lifted profit guidance for the fifth time this financial year.
The Leicester, England-based clothing and homeware retailer said full price sales were up 11% in the nine weeks to December 27 compared to last year, ahead of guidance for growth of 7.0%.
UK sales increased 5.9%, ahead of 4.1% guidance, while International sales leapt 38%, materially better than 24% guidance.
Next said this "over-achievement", along with additional sales forecast in January, adds GBP51 million to full price sales for the full-year.
As a result, the FTSE 100 listing raised guidance for full year pretax profit by GBP15 million to GBP1.15 billion, which would be growth of 14% from GBP1.01 billion the financial year prior.
It is the fifth time Next has increased profit guidance in the current financial year, after upward revisions in trading updates in March, May, July, October last year.
Next expects full-year sales of GBP6.97 billion, up 10% year-on-year, and above prior guidance of GBP6.87 billion, with post-tax earnings per share of 738.8 pence, up 16% on-year, compared to a previous forecast of a 15% rise to 729.4p.
Full price sales are expected to rise 11% on-year to GBP5.60 billion.
Guidance is for a 52-week period in order to provide a direct comparison against previous years. Next's current financial year ending January 2026 is a 53-week year.
The addition of week 53 will add around GBP22 million of pretax profit and around GBP20 million of cash flow, Next explained.
Looking ahead, Next expects group pretax profit of GBP1.20 billion in the financial year to January 2027, up 4.5% on-year, assuming it makes no further acquisitions,
The retailer forecast total sales of GBP7.26 billion, up 4.2% on-year, full price sales of GBP5.86 billion, up 4.5% on-year and post-tax EPS of 770.4p, up 4.3% on-year.
Next expects cash available for distribution to shareholders, including ordinary dividends, to be GBP768 million.
Tesco and J Sainsbury climbed 1.7% and 1.6% respectively, while on the FTSE 250 index, Ocado led the way and jumped 6.9%.
Data from Worldpanel by Numerator said overall grocery sales were GBP13.8 billion in the four weeks to December 28, up 3.8% from a year ago.
Ocado recorded the highest sales growth of 15%, while Tesco sales increased 4.3% and Sainsbury's sales rose 5.2%.
Elsewhere, Prudential was up 1.5% as it launched a USD1.2 billion share buyback programme, which it expects to complete by December 18.
"I am pleased with the progress we are making in executing our strategy. The significant growth opportunities ahead of us have not changed and we remain firmly focused on creating long-term shareholder value through high quality, sustainable growth, and consistent delivery of shareholder returns," said Anil Wadhwani, chief executive officer of the London-based insurer.
JD Sports Fashion fell the most on the FTSE 100 index, as it dropped 6.0% after the Bank of America cut its rating on the stock to 'neutral' from 'buy' and lowered its price target to 96 pence from 112p.
Auto Trader was down 2.0% as Jefferies cut it to 'hold' from 'buy', with a price target of 650p, down from 895p.
Man Group climbed 4.9% as it received price target increases from UBS and Deutsche Bank Research, who both hold 'buy' ratings on the stock.
Among small caps, Proteome Sciences jumped 17% as it signed two further good clinical laboratory practice contracts worth more than USD1.5 million.
It said trial samples are expected to be shipped late in the first quarter, with the major part of the contracts completed in 2026.
Gold was up at USD4,467.30 an ounce early on Tuesday from USD4,441.79 late Monday. Brent oil was trading slightly higher at USD61.74 a barrel from USD61.63.
Still to come on Tuesday's economic calendar are composite PMI readings for the UK, due at 0930 GMT, and the US, which will be released later in the afternoon.
By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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