The FTSE 100 has hit fresh four and a half year highs in early trading, boosted by some very cheerful festive trading updates from the UK high street.
Sainsbury’s announced this morning that it expects full-year profits for 2022 to be at the top end of guidance after Christmas sales jumped 7.1%, with JD Sports reporting a similar story. Sports Direct owner Frasers Group is also one of this morning’s big gainers, as well as a slew of mining companies.
A different story from the world of housebuilding, with Barratt Developments warning of an uncertain outlook. Its warning that homebuyer confidence and the availability and competitive pricing of mortgages will be critical to the health of the UK housing market over coming months.
And in small-caps, Argo Blockchain says a storm in Texas affected its December inflows of mined Bitcoin, which fell to 147 from 198 the month prior, but it says its well positioned heading into the new year.