Next shares drop as it warns of volatile trading

Retail giant Next saw its shares fall yesterday as it warned of “extremely volatile” trading ahead of the crucial Christmas season as online sales continue to offset tough conditions on the high street.
Next’s sales failed to meet City expectations, despite its second quarter in a row of rising total full-price sales.
The group notched up a 1.3 per cent sales rise in the three months to October 29 – but saw a 7.7 per cent plunge across its high street shops and said trading was “highly dependent” on the weather.
A 13.2 per cent jump in sales at its directory arm helped push overall sales higher. Including discounts, total sales rose 0.8 per cent in the quarter.
Chief executive Lord Wolfson said cautious consumers were only buying “as and when they need”.
He added a note of caution ahead of an announcement on UK interest rates today from the Bank of England. Economists forecast the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee will vote for a rise in UK base rates from their record low of 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent, at a time when households are being squeezed by surging inflation and paltry wage growth.
Annual UK consumer prices index inflation had by September surged to three per cent, from 0.3 per cent in May last year ahead of the Brexit vote.
Next was the biggest loser in the FTSE-100 index, dropping 450p to 4,471p.
The pound lost steam yesterday afternoon as US employment data and jitters over the possibility of a UK rate rise weighed. Sterling was down 0.16 per cent versus the US dollar at 1.326 and was nearly flat versus the euro, up just 0.06 per cent at 1.140.
Expectations for another interest rate rise by the US Federal Reserve increased following the release of ADP employment data, which showed that 235,000 jobs were added to the American economy in October.
The FTSE-100 ended the day relatively flat, down 0.07 per cent or 5.12 points at 7,487.96 points.
Across Europe, the French Cac 40 edged higher by 0.2 per cent while the German Dax jumped 1.78 per cent after being closed on Tuesday for a state holiday.
Brent crude prices fell around 0.6 per cent to $60.71. The commodity was hit by profit taking after trading at its highest levels since mid-2015 earlier in the day. In UK stocks, miners were among the best performers with Glencore up 12.55p at 375.55p, Anglo American up 48.5p at 1,468.5p, and BHP Billiton up 44.5p at 1,407p.
Their shares were buoyed by data showing further growth in China’s manufacturing sector, which is one of the industry’s biggest customers.
Standard Chartered shares plunged 45.4p to 705p as investors took a dim view of the lender’s recovery efforts, as expenses lifted four per cent to $2.5 billion (£1.9 billion).
PaddyPower Betfair was the best performer on the FTSE 100, rising 345p to 8,050p, after reporting revenue and earnings increases,helped by punters betting big on the Mayweather-McGregor fight.