FTSE up slightly depsite poor retail figures
Retail stocks were in the spotlight on the London Stock Exchange today as news of a worse-than-forecast slide in February sales added to plunging profits from Next and Kingfisher.
Official figures revealed sales volumes dropped 1.9% between January and February, with non-food stores suffering the most.
But London's FTSE 100 Index clung to its opening mark - up 7.8 points at 3908.1 - as the rally in the banking sector offset falls from retailers and insurers.
Barclays led the rises among banks, up 10.7p at 134.1p, with sentiment still positive amid hopes of an imminent iShares sale.
Lloyds Banking Group followed with a hike of 3.9p to 65.7p.
Legal & General bucked the wider trend for falls in the insurance sector, with a gain of 2.2p to 41.9p.
It fought back from yesterday's decline after slashing its dividend and reporting hefty annual losses.
Its rival Aviva remained in the red, down 8.5p at 227.5p, with concerns over its decision to maintain its dividend continuing to haunt the group.
A downgrade from Goldman Sachs compounded Aviva's fall.
B&Q owner Kingfisher was another heavy faller, down 4.7p to 137.6p, after it posted a £25m (€26.7m) slump in full-year profits at the UK DIY chain.
Like-for-like sales declined 6.1% in the year to January 31, it said.
A 14% slide in annual profits at Next and forecasts for worsening sales also sent the fashion chain into negative territory, off 19p to 1276p.
Elsewhere struggling sports fashion group JJB Sports rose as much as 30% after staving off collapse with a sale of its fitness clubs and an agreement with lenders.
Shares later eased back to stand 1p higher at 15p.
FTSE 250 firm and Fox's biscuits maker Northern Foods was another riser, up 3.25p at 48.25p, after reassuring investors it was on course to meet profit expectations on strong demand for new value pizza and sandwich ranges.
