Retailers were under pressure in London today after photographic specialist Jessops shocked the City with a profits warning.
Jessops shares plunged 28% or 42.5p to 112p after it said sales of digital cameras had shrunk considerably in February and March as consumer spending slowed down.
The news unsettled investors in top-flight retailers with losses by the likes of Next and Dixons limiting the progress of the FTSE 100 Index, which began the trading week cautiously with a rise of 8.5 points to 4931.8.
Dixons faded 1.25p to 149.5p, clothing giant Next eased 4p to 1559p and Tesco dropped 1.5p to 315p as the run-up to the results season for retailers continued to be bumpy.
Oil prices were also a worry for traders as they stayed close to record highs amid speculation that rising global demand will not be met despite increased output assurances from Opec.
Corporate news to be greeted positively by the market today included a ninth set of record first-half results by Build Center owner Wolseley.
Shares in Wolseley ticked 10p higher to 1105p after the booming home improvement market helped pretax profits to rise by 34.6% to £287.2m at constant exchange rates.
Elsewhere, Bob the Builder owner Hit Entertainment advanced 2% or 7p to 300p as terms of a recommended £489m offer from private equity firm Apax Partners were announced.
References: EGi News 21/03/05
