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FTSE 100 scrapes another higher close
M&S beats Christmas sales forecast
Tesco hails 'strong progress'
Lloyds suffers online banking problems for a second day
Image source, Getty ImagesThe FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250 both opened lower following a mixed bag of Christmas trading updates from Britain's retailers.
The FTSE 100 fell 20 points to 7,269, while the FTSE 250 tumbled 75 points to 18,318.
John Lewis has joined the Super Thursday retail reporting party with its own trading update for the six weeks to the end of December. It says sales rose 2.7% over the period, but its partners - who work in and own the store under its unique structure - will receive a significantly smaller bonus this year when the profits are shared out.
John Moylan
BBC industry & employment correspondent
Image source, GetNational Grid has escaped calls to be broken-up to prevent conflicts between its dual role of owning and operating key parts of the energy infrastructure.
Instead a new, legally separate electricity system operator will be established within National Grid, the government says.
The more independent system operator will have distinct employees, directors and offices from other National Grid electricity subsidiary companies.
In a statement National Grid welcomed the move saying it was best placed to deliver the system operator role during a time when the energy landscape is changing rapidly.
National Grid owns and operates key parts of Britain’s energy infrastructure.
It charges generators regulated prices to transport electricity across its power network.
But it also balances supply and demand across the network.
It’s this system operator function which critics say should be separated out of the overall group.
Image source, Getty ImagesAway from food and clothing for a moment...
Online electrical retailer AO World says group revenues rose 12.3% in the final three months of 2016, external year-on-year. In the UK, overall revenues rose 8.9%.
Boss John Roberts says trading is going well, although he says there are uncertainties around the UK's economic outlook and currency impact.
Image source, Getty ImagesSupergroup - the company behind the Superdry fashion chain - has reported a rise in half-year profits and said it performed "well" over the Christmas period.
Pre-tax profits, external for the half-year to 29 October rose 10% to £12.7m, with revenues up 31% to £334m.
Over the key Christmas period, retail revenues were up 14.9% on a like-for-like basis, and the company said it was on track to hit market expectations for full-year profits.
Image source, ReutersIt's not all about retailing today...
Britain's biggest housebuilder, Barratt Developments, has posted a year-on-year fall in the number of homes it built in the six months to the end of December, as it completed fewer properties in London.
Barratt, which posted a 7% increase in first-half pre-tax profit to £315m, built 7,180 homes, down 6% on the same period in the previous year with a fall in completions in the capital.
"This expected reduction in the first half was primarily driven by the planned build programme between the first and second half impacting wholly owned site product availability," the firm said in a statement, external.
Barratt said in November that it was cutting the price of some of its most expensive London homes by up to 10% as the market cooled following property tax increases and the Brexit vote.
Even on an underlying basis, external M&S fared well over Christmas, according to retail analyst Nick Bubb.
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BBC retail correspondent tweets on M&S Christmas trading update
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Image source, TescoThe chief executive of Tesco, which was embroiled in a furore over an inflation-linked rise in the price of Marmite last year, is working "shoulder to shoulder" with suppliers to help mitigate the impact of the collapse in the value of the pound.
Dave Lewis says: "Inflation pressure is there, but we will keep doing everything we can to minimise the impact." Mr Lewis added that Tesco has "seen no change in the pattern" of consumer spending behaviour".
BBC Radio 4
Image source, Getty ImagesBryan Roberts, global insight director at TCC Global, hailed M&S's better-than-expected Christmas figures in its clothing and homeware business after years of decline.
"It might be the sign of some green shoots in that part of the business," he told the BBC's Today programme.
He attributed the improvement to M&S boss Steve Rowe focusing on the fundamentals of the business like pricing and availability - a strategy that has also led to good results at Morrisons and Tesco.
However, he said that the 0.6% rise in food sales compared with rival supermarkets' results was " disappointing".
Image source, AFPOnline fashion retailer Asos, external had "record sales over cyber weekend and the Christmas trading period", says chief executive Nick Beighton.
In the four months to 31 December total retail sales rose 36% to £605.7m, and revenues also rose 36%.
"I'm pleased to report a strong start to the year. A 50% plus increase in international sales is a standout performance. UK sales growth at 18% was a strong performance in a more promotional market," he said, external.
The BBC's Ben Thompson tweets:
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Image source, PATesco says it recruited 15,000 seasonal workers to cover the Christmas trading period. The supermarket describes it as one of a series of "little helps". It meant Tesco could re-stock shelves earlier in the day, a key factor in the sales growth.
Marks & Spencer's Christmas figures got a lift from a longer reporting period.
The Times market reporter Alex Ralph says:
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Image source, Getty ImagesSportswear chain JD Sports Fashion has said, external its annual profits are set to beat market expectations after what it called an "exceptional performance".
The retailer did not specify how sales went over Christmas, but said for the 49 weeks to 7 January like-for-like sales growth across all its businesses had been maintained at the same level as in the first half of the year, when they rose by "approximately 10%".
As a result, the company says it expects profits for the current financial year "will exceed current consensus market expectations of £200m by up to 15%".
A quick editorial note on this retail-heavy day. Most retailers report their sales figures with the expression "like-for-like". It is intended to show whether people are buying more (or less) of a company's goods because they like them more, rather than there simply being more (or less) of them on sale because there are more (or fewer) stores and is considered a better measure of how a retail company is performing.
Image source, Getty ImagesM&S's Christmas figures are ahead of expectations, however the retailer was coming from a very low base.
In Christmas 2015, while like-for-like sales in food rose 0.5%, turnover from its clothing and homeware lines plunged by 5.8% because of "unseasonal conditions and availability".
On the same day the figures emerged, M&S announced that chief executive Marc Bolland was stepping down and Steve Rowe - then the director of general mechandise division - would replace him.
Image source, Getty ImagesDebenhams reported like-for-like, external sales in the seven week period to the 7 January were up 5%.
Debenhams chief executive Sergio Bucher has said he is "pleased" with Debenhams Black Friday and Christmas trading performance.
M&S Christmas trading update
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Image source, Getty ImagesPrimark's owner Associated British Foods (ABF) says, external its UK like-for-like sales were "good" but has not given any detail. The company has been expanding fast in the UK, opening new stores, for example in Stafford and Truro in Cornwall, and is also on the move internationally, with a huge store recently opened in Madrid. Total sales were up 12% - but so was total selling space.