Marks & Spencer Share News (MKS)

LONDON (Alliance News) - London stocks remained in the red at midday on Thursday but were off the lows reached in early trade. Sentiment was subdued, following several sessions of US-China trade talks-inspired gains, after the world's two largest economies confirmed progress had been made but specifics on a de-escalation in tensions were lacking. Weighing on the FTSE 100 was an ex-dividend BHP Group and a broker rating downgrade for Burberry, offsetting gains for gold miner Fresnillo and retailers Tesco and Marks & Spencer. The FTSE 250, meanwhile, was hampered after a substantial blow for Halfords in the wake of a profit warning.At midday, the FTSE 100 was down 4.51 points, or 0.1%, at 6,902.12. The blue-chip index had dipped as low as 6,860.82 just after the open. The FTSE 250 was down 20.88 points, or 0.1%, at 18,392.83, while the AIM All-Share was up 0.2% at 905.19.The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.2% at 11,715.17, while the Cboe UK 250 was 0.2% lower at 16,444.72. The Cboe UK Small Companies was up 0.1% at 11,150.95.In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.7%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was 0.2% lower.Despite global equity declines on Thursday, Oanda remained positive given the strong performance posted by stocks so far this week."Equity markets around the globe are in negative territory on Thursday, with the US seen following suit, but that's nothing to be concerned about with the drop coming after a good run of gains across stock markets," said Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam."It's been an impressive rebound over the last week or so, made all the more encouraging by the fact that it's been supported by some genuine positive headlines," Erlam continued. "While specifics are lacking, talks between the US and China appear to be going well, as the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday. This is very good news for investors as it represents one of the primary risks for markets."After extending discussions into a third day on Wednesday, US and Chinese trade teams made some progress but questions remain over how they will overcome differences which have been fuelling an ongoing trade war.US officials called for any future agreement with their Chinese counterparts to be subject "to ongoing verification and effective enforcement," according to a statement released Thursday by the US trade representative. The demand reflects older complaints China doesn't always fulfil its trade-related promises.The US also pushed China to buy "a substantial amount" of agricultural and energy products, among other things, in order to reduce the countries' trade deficit.A Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman said Thursday negotiations have progressed and "have enhanced mutual understanding and laid a foundation for addressing each other's concerns."The two sides remain divided, however, on issues such as China's intellectual property protection and subsidies to domestic firms, sources told the Wall Street Journal.Stocks in the US are called for a lower open on Thursday, following European counterparts. The Dow Jones is seen down 0.5%, as is the S&P 500, while the Nasdaq is pointed 0.6% lower. Amid Thursday's cautious attitude to risk-on investments, the price of safe haven asset gold rose to USD1,293.53 at midday, up from USD1,289.10 late Wednesday. Gold miner Fresnillo was rising in step with the increase in the value of the precious metal, shares up 2.2% at midday.Tesco was also among the FTSE 100's winners on Thursday, up 1.8% after its UK & Ireland division helped to boost Christmas sales. For the 19 weeks to January 5, Tesco's group like-for-like sales were up 0.8%, driven by a strong Christmas period, with sales up 1.5% in 6 weeks to January 5, and a steady third-quarter performance, up 0.5% in the 13 weeks to November 24. Just over the last 6 weeks to January 5 in the UK & Ireland, Tesco's like-for-like sales were up 2.6%, "outperforming market in UK in both volume and value terms".Marks & Spencer, which also sells food along with clothes and homewares, was up 1.7% as it reported a "steady" performance over Christmas despite sales falling. For the 13 weeks to December 29, the retailer reported total group sales down 3.9% to GBP3.04 billion on a year prior. In the UK, M&S's core market, total sales were down 2.7% to GBP2.78 billion while like-for-like sales fell by 2.2%. "Trading numbers from M&S won't surprise anyone, but neither will they bring any cheer. Sales are falling in both the food and clothing & home divisions thanks to the well-documented decline in high street footfall. A strong performance from M&S online and a reduction in the amount of stock cleared at knock down prices are bright spots in an otherwise dreary picture," commented Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.BHP shares declined 5.4% as the stock went ex-dividend, meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the miner's special payout. Burberry was down 2.2% after German bank Berenberg cut its rating on the luxury fashion retailer to Hold from Buy.Halfords shares skid 21% after the car parts and bike retailer cut its profit outlook for its current financial year, citing weak consumer sentiment. The bike and car parts retailer now expects annual adjusted pretax profit for the year ending March 30 to be between GBP58 million and GBP62 million. In November, Halfords said it expected profit for the 2019 financial year to be broadly flat on the GBP71.6 million achieved for the 2018 financial year. For the 14 weeks to January 4, the bike seller's total revenue fell by 2.0%, dragged by a 2.5% drop in the company's retail division. Card Factory shares folded 11% after the cards retailer braced for another difficult year. Card Factory's revenue growth for the 11 months ended December 31 was 3.4%, compared to 5.9% growth a year before. Like-for-like sales in the 11 month period, however, dipped 0.1%, compared to a 3.0% increase in the same period a year ago."In light of the current consumer and macro-economic backdrop, we anticipate that [financial 2020] will be another difficult year," Card Factory said, with earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization to remain broadly flat with "limited sales growth".Mitchells & Butlers was the best performer in the FTSE 250, shares gaining 6.3% after a strong festive performance which saw the pub and bar operator rake in GBP12 million on Christmas day alone. The group, which owns Nicholson pubs and Harvester restaurants, reported like-for-like sales for the three-week Christmas period of 9.8%. For the 14 weeks ended January 5, like-for-like sales growth was 4.7%.Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings was up 2.0% in a positive read-across from a record set of sales figures from luxury car making peer Porsche.Porsche's sales rose 4% year-on-year, selling a total of 256,255 cars in 2018. Sales in China rose by 12%, with 80,108 cars sold, making it Porsche's largest customer country.There were also stellar numbers from Rolls-Royce, which announced annual sales of 4,107 vehicles in 2018, marking a 22% increase on the prior year's total of 3,362.This came as the Sussex-headquartered luxury car firm said it will not move manufacturing elsewhere after Brexit, with Chief Executive Torsten Muller-Otvos telling reporters the idea of moving the car maker abroad was a "complete no-go for me".To come in Thursday's economic calendar is the European Central Bank's accounts of its last monetary policy meeting, while at 1330 GMT are US initial and continuing jobless claims.