Food retailers are getting crushed this morning
It's not been a great morning for the supermarkets.
Food retailers Ouch!!!! pic.twitter.com/OZwHAdNE1P
— Alastair McCaig (@AMcCaig_IG) January 9, 2014
Morrisons, the third biggest grocer on the FTSE 100, is leading the index lower after an shock Christmas update – like-for-like sales were down 5.6 per cent. Shares have fallen over five per cent to 240p.
Meanwhile, Tesco saw sales decline 2.4 per cent over the festive period – a markedly worse result than analysts had been expecting. Its shares are currently down over three per cent.
Yesterday Sainsbury's posted a sharp slowdown in sales over the Christmas quarter, with chief executive Justin King labelling discount rivals an "all-year" threat.
It's a different story, however, for supermarkets sitting either end of the spectrum, with Waitrose reporting a strong performance over Christmas yesterday, and discounters Aldi and Lidl predicted good results.