Market report: Thursday close

SHARES of retailer

It was one of the best performers among the second liners, climbing 13 1/2p to 213p, which compares with the 185p struck after the deal was pulled by Whelan. Once again, there is talk that it has lined up a buyer for its discount shops chain TJ Hughes, which it bought only last year.

Things have soured for JJB, which has a 449-strong stores presence across both chains, since it struck a peak of 478p two years ago. Earlier this month, it reported a 3.4% drop in like-for-like sales, signalling a shake-up for the group which is expected to result in heavy closures.

JJB was hit after it was forced to sell stock at half price in order to clear autumn and winter lines.

News that Asda is now Britain's second-biggest supermarket chain in terms of sales put J Sainsbury under fresh pressure today.

The former No 2 fell 3 3/4p to 264 3/4p as the City cast fresh doubt over its ability to beef up falling sales and re-establish itself. The latest survey by supermarket watcher Taylor Nelson Sofres tracked the spending habits of 15,000 households. It showed market leader Tesco, 3 3/4p off at 264 3/4p, clinging to a 27% market share. Asda, owned by US retail giant Wal-Mart, grabbed 17%.

Sainsbury has continued to lose ground and now accounts for 16.2% of the market. Eight years ago it held pole position. The slip did not come as a surprise to brokers following last week's disappointing numbers from Sainsbury that revealed further sales erosion.

Sainsbury maintains it is still Britain's second-biggest grocer as much of the lead grabbed by Asda has been on non-food items. However, US securities house Smith Barney has downgraded Sainsbury to underperform.

Shares bounced from earlier falls, supported by better-than-expected economic news in the US and an opening gain for the Dow. Second-quarter GDP rose to 2.4%, from 1.4% in the first three months, while the latest purchasing managers index and jobless numbers in the States also made good reading. The FTSE 100 rose 15.8 points to 4157.

Abbey National extended Wednesday's sharp gains with a rise of 4 1/2p to 541 1/4p in the face of further losses and a dividend cut.

Brokers are mixed about long- term prospects for the bank. Morgan Stanley has stuck with its overweight rating and raised its target price from 526p to 600p, while Merrill Lynch has upgraded from sell to neutral. Lehman Brothers has reiterated its equal weight rating and raised its target from 460p to 540p. Smith Barney has repeated its underperform rating, but has raised its target price from 400p to 450p.

Marconi Corporation rose 2p to 73p after a line of 5m shares went through at 74p.

Building materials giant Hanson is pinning its hopes on higher demand in the second half after interim pre-tax profits tumbled 17% to £121 million on falling aggregate sales. The shares rose 9p to 366p.

Prices and indices in this section are supplied from various sources and calculated at different times and may not always match those listed on the site.