FTSE roused by retailers' rally
By Kit Rees
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index climbed higher on Tuesday, recovering from some of the previous session's losses as the retail sector rallied on the back of solid results and upbeat industry data.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 1 percent at 5,929.24 points - still down 17 percent from a record high of 7,122.74 points reached last April, with stock markets around the world having been impacted by a slowdown in China.
Retailers were among the best performers.
Monthly data from market researcher Kantar Worldpanel showed that No.2 chain Sainsbury grew sales and market share over Christmas, the only one of the top four in Britain to do so.
And while Kantar Worldpanel continued to show market leader Tesco losing share, the data nevertheless highlighted an improvement from the previous month.
Tesco shares surged 6.7 percent, while Sainsbury rose 3.3 percent, with Marks & Spencer also advancing around 1 percent.
Rival supermarket chain Morrison, which is in the FTSE 250 mid-cap index, also had an 8.7 percent in its share price after its sales figures beat forecasts.
Department store chain Debenhams surged 15.9 percent after posting higher sales over Christmas trading period, while strong sales also lifted the shares of online fashion retailer Boohoo.com.
"Debenhams’ trading update was reassuringly unremarkable. With its busiest trading period behind it, the business remains on track to deliver profits in line with expectations," said David Stoddart, analyst at Edison Investment Research.
However, mining stocks fell as copper prices stayed near 6-1/2 year lows due to the worries over a slowdown in China, which is the world's biggest consumer of metals.
(Reporting by Kit Rees, Editing by Ed Osmond and Alison Williams)
