MARKET REPORT: Retail shares tumble as families rein in spending

High Street retailers felt a chill amid spending worries ahead of Christmas as inflation bites.

Tesco was forced to adjust its profit forecast for the year and shares in a range of well-known names plunged into the red.

Fashion chain Next fell 5.3 percent or 268p to 4762p, retailer M&S fell 5.4 percent or 5.57p to 96.88p, sportswear giant JD Sports fell 3.2 percent or 3.45p to 104.5p and Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group fell 2.5 percent, or 17p, to 671.5p.

The decline came amid renewed concerns about the outlook for the economy, with households likely to cut spending as energy bills and mortgage rates rise.

Supermarkets were also under pressure after Tesco’s update, which fell 4.1 percent, or 8.7p, to 201.3p. Online grocer Ocado lost 10 percent or 50.9 pence to 456.1 pence and Sainsbury’s fell 4.7 percent or 8.4 pence to 172.2 pence.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.48 percent or 33.84 points to 7052.62 and the FTSE 250 fell 1.46 percent or 259.73 points to 17 562.42.

Oil inventories rose after OPEC+ agreed to the deepest production cuts since the 2020 pandemic.

As crude continued to climb above $90 a barrel, BP gained 1.3 percent or 5.7 pence to 460.2 pence, while Shell rose 1.7 percent or 40.5 pence to 2378.5 pence and Harbor Energy 0. .02 percent or 0.1 pence rose. up to 451 p.

The rally came a day after the Shell boss opened the door for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

Ben van Beurden told an energy conference in London that helping the poorest in society could mean ‘governments have to tax people in this room to pay for it’.

During her first appearance as prime minister at the Tory party conference, Liz Truss ruled out another windfall for energy giants.

On the acquisition front, the Hill & Smith engineering group fell for the American manufacturer and supplier of portable solar power structures, National Signal.

Stock Watch – Strix

Strix has agreed to purchase Australian crane manufacturer and supplier Billi for around £38 million.

The maker of kettle controls expects to complete the acquisition this year. To fund the deal, Strix raised around £13 million by selling 11,304,347 shares for 115 pence, a 10 percent discount from Tuesday’s closing price.

The AIM-listed company has also refinanced its existing £80 million debt facility and entered into a new £49 million loan.

Shares fell 5.8 percent, or 7.4p, to 120.4p.

The deal is valued at around £22.2 million with a further performance-related payment of around £3.5 million up for grabs.

Hill & Smith has also completed the acquisition of Widnes Galvanizing for £3.7m, and its shares rose 4.4 per cent, or 43p, to 1014p.

Hilton Food Group received a much-needed boost from the City just weeks after its worst trading day. Peel Hunt described the food packer’s operations in New Zealand and Australia as ‘world class’ after a visit.

“These are the blueprint for what can be achieved elsewhere,” the broker added. Last month, Hilton’s half-year results saw shares plummet 28.3 percent after warning that full-year earnings would be lower than expected.

Yesterday, shares gained 6.2 percent, or 35p, to 597p. Meanwhile, Hyve Group touted a wave of business as some of its biggest personal events returned in style.

The conference and trade show organizer said turnover was around £122 million last year, compared to £22 million 12 months earlier.

The group is also in talks to sell its Turkish operations for up to £8 million while cutting its portfolio. Shares were up 8.2 percent, or 4.1p, to 54.1p.

Residential builder Redrow has renewed its commitment to ensuring leaseholders have a safe place to live and not be saddled with the cost of repairing high-rise blocks.

In a win for cladding victims, it has joined the Welsh Government’s Construction Safety Pact, meaning it will repair all buildings over 11 meters with fire safety issues it has been involved in for the past 30 years.

It has set aside £200m as part of the pledge it signed in England in April and does not think this will increase after agreeing to the Welsh Pact. Investors may need more persuasion as the stock fell 3 percent or 12.6 pence to 410.6 pence.