Next rallies on broker note as FTSE struggles for direction

CLOTHING giant Next rallied nearly 4pc after broker Jefferies decided that its share price had been battered enough by the consumer storm hitting the sector.

While the rest of the FTSE 100 was engaged in a tug of war thanks to a flurry of pre-august holidays Super Thursday result statements, the clothing retailer rebounded 147p to £39.27 after Caroline Gulliver, the Jefferies analyst, told clients that it is starting to reap the rewards from its new online strategy, Next Unlimited.

Although it will take the retailer another two to three years to feel the full benefits from its foray into the online and delivery market, there are “encouraging signs”, the broker told clients.

The macro outlook was less reassuring for Next as discretionary spending becomes squeezed by the gap between the rise in inflation and stubborn wage growth, but the broker said that it had suffered enough after investors dumped the stock when it first flagged the gloomy outlook in January.

On a day of trading dominated by earnings, Smirnoff-maker Diageo finished the top gainer, closing 136p higher at £24.09, after announcing a £1.5bn share buyback, while energy provider SSE dived 80p, or 5.5pc, to £13.80 as it went ex-dividend.

While Astrazeneca’s worst ever day of trading helped drag the FTSE 100 index 9.31 points lower to 7,443.01, mid-cap pharma peer Indivior supported the FTSE 250, soaring 18pc, or 55.7p, to 372.8p. The addiction specialist, which has been embroiled in legal issues in the US since being spun out of Reckitt Benckiser in 2014, climbed to its highest-ever price after raising its profit forecast. Astrazeneca meanwhile dived 788p to £43.25. Elsewhere, troubled

Acacia Mining halted its downwards share price spiral after its largest shareholder Barrick Gold said that talks with the Tanzanian government on the ban of gold and copper concentrate exports will begin next week. Acacia’s share price has crashed 70pc since March when the ban started, with the miner admitting last Friday that its revenues had fallen 29pc in its first half. It advanced 20.7p to 178.5p.

Finally, womenswear retailer Bonmarche jumped 8.5p, or 9.5pc, to 98p as it reported on stronger sales momentum in its first quarter. Despite challenging industry headwinds, investors cheered the green shoots of a turnaround.