FTSE 100 movers: Next rallies on guidance upgrade; JD Sports tumbles
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 7,720.45 in afternoon trade on Thursday.
Next was the top performer as the fashion retailer lifted annual guidance after better-than-expected full-price sales during November and December.
Full-price sales in the nine weeks to December 30 rose 5.7% year-on-year, £38m better than previous guidance of a 2% rise.
Annual pre-tax profit was lifted by £20m to £905m. Of that, £17m came from the sales beat to date and £3m from an upgraded forecast for full-price sales in January.
Oil giants BP and Shell also gushed higher as oil prices rose.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "There were decent gains for BP and Shell as oil prices extended their recent upwards movement on concerns over Middle Eastern supply. The region remains a tinder box due to the Israel-Gaza war, and disruption to shipping routes through the Red Sea is also a key factor behind the surge in crude.
"A big drawdown in US crude supplies - robust North American production played a key part in keeping a lid on prices in 2023 - is also a contributing factor."
On the downside, JD Sports tumbled as it delivered a profit warning after second-half trading missed expectations due to milder autumn weather and heavier discounting over the peak holiday shopping season.
The company said the "elevated level of promotional activity" during the peak trading period meant that full-year gross margins would be slightly lower than last year, leading it to cut adjusted pre-tax profit guidance to between £915m and £935m, from £1.04bn at the half-year stage.
Sports Direct owner Frasers Group also lost ground.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Next (NXT) 8,458.00p 4.65%
Beazley (BEZ) 547.50p 3.99%
BP (BP.) 479.70p 1.64%
BAE Systems (BA.) 1,151.50p 1.54%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,839.50p 1.41%
Tesco (TSCO) 301.80p 1.34%
Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 307.30p 1.32%
Shell (SHEL) 2,627.00p 1.31%
Vodafone Group (VOD) 70.41p 1.29%
Intertek Group (ITRK) 4,249.00p 1.19%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 118.15p -23.99%
Croda International (CRDA) 4,640.00p -4.96%
Frasers Group (FRAS) 836.50p -3.96%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 13,425.00p -2.08%
Endeavour Mining (EDV) 1,684.00p -1.86%
Fresnillo (FRES) 544.00p -1.66%
Halma (HLMA) 2,116.00p -1.58%
Experian (EXPN) 3,009.00p -1.57%
Diploma (DPLM) 3,310.00p -1.31%
Kingfisher (KGF) 231.80p -1.28%