Wednesday, 31st July: Clothing and homeware retailer Next aren’t backing down without a fight, and their most recent Q2 update puts negative spectators in their place. Not only did they brag a 4.0% increase on full price sales, but they also announced an increase in full year profit and EPS guidance. The upbeat update landed Next the top spot on the FTSE 100 as they traded more than 7.0% higher and at a 12-month high.
The upbeat results from Next weren’t enough to keep the index afloat which was suffering due to other updates from the likes of Taylor Wimpey, St. James’s Place and Lloyds Banking Group.
Taylor Wimpey suffered the most amongst the three, closing 8.35% lower after forecasting a fall in annual margins, and due to continued concerns surrounding a no-deal Brexit which has been heightened after bullish Prime Minister Boris Johnson took charge.
The mid-cap index wasn’t having a much better day either, as Aston Martin and Intu Properties revealed steep losses, but it was Intu who took a real beating after announcing the cancellation of their interim dividend.
Sterling made a late comeback in the afternoon, up circa 0.56% to $1.2227 at around 16:35 (BST).
The FTSE 100 and 250 both failed to defy the losers on their indexes today as they were swamped with bad news and closed 0.78% and 0.55% lower respectively.