Panic buyers send shares in supermarkets soaring
SHARES in Britain’s biggest supermarkets bucked the trend on another dismal day for the stock market.
As the FTSE 100 fell into the red,
Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Morrisons were some of the top gainers as shoppers scrambled for supplies after the Government tightened curbs on social contact.
Supermarkets have made extraordinary statements to shoppers in recent days, with some setting aside times for the elderly to visit and others imposing restrictions on how many of the same item people can buy.
Sales are still rising and are not expected to slow down.
Figures from Morrisons (up 10.5pc, or 18.95p, to 199.3p) show sales are now 5pc higher than this time a year ago. Ocado traded 8.7pc higher, up 118.5p, to 1479.5p, as Berenberg analysts deemed it ‘primed to benefit’.
It had introduced virtual queues on its website but was last night forced to shut it down entirely until Saturday amid the unmanageable demand for its deliveries. Shares in Sainsbury’s – the top Footsie riser – jumped 12.7pc, or 24.3p, to 216.3p, while Tesco inched up 1.2pc, or 2.7p, to 228.6p and Marks & Spencer surged 23.8pc, or 21.93p, to 114.25p.
Their rise came as the FTSE 100 fell 4.1pc, or 214.32 points, to 5080.58 and the FTSE 250 dived 6.6pc, or 916.69 points, to 13,008.19. But the Footsie’s fall was less pronounced than on other major stock markets, which have also shrugged off massive stimulus plans unveiled by governments to prop up their economies.
In Europe, France’s Cac 40 and Germany’s Dax both shed almost 6pc of their value. And a sell-off on
Wall Street gained pace, with the Dow Jones, the S&P and Nasdaq all deeply in the red. Betting technology firm
Sportech slumped 38.6pc, or 7.55p, to 12p after it said the mass cancellations of sporting events had hurt trading so much that it is not yet ‘appropriate to provide financial guidance’ for 2020. And struggling software giant
Micro Focus scrapped its £195m dividend, blaming uncertainty around the coronavirus crisis.
It said there had been ‘no material impact’ so far but warned that at a minimum it was preparing for a hit to sales.
It said cancelling the planned payout of 58.3p per share was ‘prudent’, and closed down 22.6pc, or 91.05p, at 311.65p.
Property website Rightmove was also in the red, falling 7pc, or 35.2p, to 468.6p, as it said it was too early to tell exactly what the hit to its business would be.
Online musical instruments retailer Gear4music had cheerier news, saying that it didn’t expect the pandemic to knock sales in the year to March 31. It fell 3.4pc, or 5p, to 142.5p. Spire Healthcare (down 3pc, or 1.85p, to 59.6p), meanwhile, committed to helping the NHS, which is expected to buy capacity from private hospitals such as those Spire operates.
In non-coronavirus news, financial services group MJ Hudson fell 1.8pc, or 1p, to 54.5p, after it bought marketing and data analytics business Meyer for an undisclosed sum. And Russian gold miner
Petropavlovsk made early gains but later fell out of favour with shareholders after it revealed plans to offload its stake in iron ore group IRC for £8.3m, ending 0.4pc, or 0.06p, down at 15.52p.
On AIM, Jersey Oil & Gas said it still has enough cash to progress its work on the Greater Buchan Field in the North Sea. As oil prices hit 17-year lows amid virus turbulence and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, it said it has enough money to last until the end of 2021.
Stock fell 1pc, or 0.5p, to 48p.