Market report: Wednesday close

THERE could be more misery ahead for loyal

That was the story doing the rounds today as the shares fell 6p to 338p amid mounting speculation the group may be forced to bring forward next week's Christmas and New Year trading update because it had done so badly.

A directive from the Financial Services Authority before Christmas ordered retailers to issue price-sensitive information as soon as possible rather than on the planned publication date. Woolworths, ½p cheaper at 37¼p, was the first to make the move by issuing its festive trading news yesterday instead of waiting another couple of weeks. It was quickly followed by House of Fraser, off 1½p at 113¼p.

Brokers fear like-for-like sales at M&S will be down by as much as 10% following a disastrous run-up to Christmas. Fund managers who rejected the 400p-a-share offer from Bhs owner Philip Green may now be regretting their decision.

Today it was the turn of market-makers to give Next a whack, leaving it nursing a fall of 54p at 1627p. Like-for-like sales from 3 August to Christmas Eve were up just 0.5%. The group also said it expects pre-tax profit of between £415m and £425m in the year to the end of January, which it said is broadly in line with market expectations.

Richard Ratner at broker Seymour Pierce downgraded his expectations for Next before Christmas. He now reckons sales are ahead of expectations and subsequently raised his pre-tax profit forecast for the year from £400m to £415m. He rates the shares a hold.

Share prices generally were beating a ragged retreat in the face of a late sell-off on Wall Street overnight that left the Dow nursing a fall of almost 100 points. A resurgence in the price of oil was to blame, with crude prices climbing from $42.30 a barrel to $43.71 on the futures market. In London, the FTSE 100 index fell 35.2 points to 4811.8.

Investors also had to contend with a long list of firms going ex-dividend, including industrial gases supplier BOC, down 37p at 979p, which is shelling out a payment to investors of 15.9p a share.

The profits warning from Stanley Leisure, down 49¾p at 381¼p, took a heavy toll on rival bookmakers. William Hill fell 28p to 555p, London Clubs 6½p to 116½p and Sportingbet 4¼p at 188p.

News agency and financial information systems supplier Reuters continued to lose ground ahead of next week's trading update, dipping 7¾p to 364¼p. Some brokers say the recovery has stalled. Others, such as US investment bank JP Morgan, are more positive although it is forecasting a 2.1% decline in underlying core recurring revenues. Still, it has raised its 12-month target for the shares from 400p to 430p.

Housebuilders remain a firm favourite with many investors despite the slowdown in the housing market. Broker UBS has raised its target on posh-homes builder Berkeley, down 13p at 790p, from 965p to 989p.

Recruitment consultant Michael Page, down 10½p at 178½p, has been downgraded to a sell by Deutsche Bank with a 147p target ahead of Friday's trading statement.

Logistics group Exel reversed 4½p to 727p. It has exercised its option to buy Power Packaging, a contractor for branded food and beverage companies in North America, for an undisclosed sum.