[…]Marks & Spencer Plc, the country’s biggest clothing retailer, posted its first rise in quarterly underlying sales for over two years, but missed analysts’ forecasts and joined rivals in warning of an uncertain 2010.[….]
[…]Marks & Spencer (M&S), which also runs an upmarket food business, said sales at UK stores open at least a year rose 0.8 percent in the 13 weeks to December 26, its fiscal third quarter.
That was below analysts’ average estimate of 1.2 percent and contrasts with forecast-beating numbers reported by fashion chain Next Plc and department stores group John Lewis on Tuesday.[…]
[…]Earlier on Wednesday, a survey showed consumer confidence suffered its sharpest fall in over a year in December, even as other data showed both job placements and wages rising.
M&S said underlying UK sales growth was nearer 2 percent adjusting for the fact that the comparable period the previous year included an extra day of the post-Christmas clearance sale.[…]
Inizia la stagione degli utili aziendali.
Ma attenzione, perchè M&S non è un titolo qualunque, è probabilmente il più importante del settore retail Europa, il punto di riferimento per misurare la tenuta dei consumi.
E sarà interessante anche in chiave futura vedere la reazione del mercato a risultati più o meno in linea con quelli previsti dagli analisti, ma con previsioni caute per il 2010.
In questo momento M&S fa -5%, in ogni caso vediamo come si evolverà la giornata.
Pare in ogni caso chiaro che come minimo occorra decisamente prudenza in questo momento.
