Ocado emerged as the biggest festive winner on the UK’s grocery market after a surge in online sales since the outbreak.
Ocado shares increased 3.2 percentage, or 49.5p., to reach 1605.5p. This makes it the most significant riser in the blue chip index.
According to Kantar, Ocado had the highest Christmas sales in this year’s survey.
Ocado shares increased 3.2 percentage points, or 49.5p., to reach 1605.5p. This was the largest riser of the blue-chip index.
Its sales in the 12 weeks to December 26 totalled £544million – up 2.5 per cent on the same period in 2020 and a 39.9 per cent leap on Christmas 2019 before Covid struck. Berenberg’s analysts raised their Ocado share rating from ‘hold to ‘buy.
Shares in Ocado’s joint venture partner Marks & Spencer were also higher – up 4.7 per cent, or 11.2p, to 249.7p – as investors bet on its continued recovery.
M&S shares have almost trebled in value since the depths of the pandemic and are now trading at their highest level since mid-2019.
M&S and Kantar are due to deliver their Christmas trading update on Thursday next week.
Tesco was also given a boost by the Kantar figures,
Although its sales over the 12 weeks to Boxing Day were down 0.9 per cent on 2020, they were 10.1 per cent higher than in 2019. With its main rivals doing nothing similar, it saw its market share rise to 27.9% over the past four years.
By contrast, Sainsbury’s sales were down 4.4 per cent over the festive period while Asda fell 3.9 per cent and Morrisons 6.5 per cent, though they were up 5.8 per cent, 3.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively on a two-year basis.
Tesco shares rose 1%, or 2.75p at 296.7p. Sainsbury’s shares rose 0.9 percent, or 2.4p at 279.8p. Private equity owns Morrisons, Asda and other grocery stores.
The flurry of interest in the UK grocers came as the FTSE 100 gained 0.2 per cent, or 11.72 points, to reach 7516.87 – its highest level since February 2020.
The FTSE 250, which is more domestically-oriented, fell 0.6% to 237711.88, but.
Investors in Cineworld, a struggling mid-cap, saw some relief as shares rose 18.1 percent, or 5.89p to 38.57p.
Investors may see the rise as an indication that they are beginning to have more faith in the second-largest cinema chain in the world after a difficult few years.
The stock was hammered in the pandemic and the company lost nearly 40 per cent of its value in a single day just before Christmas when a Canadian court ordered it to pay £722million to Cineplex for aborting a planned takeover in 2020.
And, despite the much-needed rise in the shares yesterday, the stock is still down more than 80 per cent since the start of 2020.
Holiday Inn owners InterContinental Hotels Group, (IHG), rose 0.7%, or 34p to 5062p in the top flight after UBS analysts elevated it to a ‘buy’ rating from ‘neutral.
UBS stated that IHG was among its top picks of the year along with Whitbread, which increased by 0.7% or 22p to 3156p, and Paddy Power and Betfair owner Flutter, which rose 1.8 percent or 200p to 11,835p).
London Stock Exchange Group was also in the news. It rose 1.7% or 120p to 7188p following Citigroup’s statement that it shares were “simply too low” and giving it a “buy” rating.
Following a great start to 2018, airlines saw further improvements following relaxations in passenger testing rules. British Airways’ IAG rose 1.5 percent, or 2.3p at 160.82p. Easyjet saw a rise of 1.6%, or 9.2p to reach 616.66p.
Susannah Streeter of Hargreaves, Lansdown said that the relaxation of test rules was the Christmas gift the travel industry has been waiting for.