THE TIPSTER
Retailers have had mixed fortunes over the Christmas period. Although shoppers spent huge amounts of cash in the run-up to the festive season, not everybody has gained in the same way.
Supermarkets and cheap high-street chains have out-performed – department store John Lewis recorded its best ever revenues in December. But others could not keep up with John Lewis and they suffered. Burberry reports its results on Tuesday and there is a possibility that profits could be lacklustre. More prudent, cash-strapped shoppers combined with cold weather during the January sales could have weighed on its performance. If this is the case, its share price might come under pressure as investors avoid brands in the high-end retail sector. Capital Spreads offers a price of 590.0p-592.8p.
Meanwhile, the trading update from Carphone Warehouse comes with a certain level of expectation within the financial community. The company was very bullish when it announced its interims in November, but since then the stock has been struggling to show any signs of a break out from the current range.
If its economic fortunes stay downbeat, then perhaps the 200p level will remain a psychological barrier and the stock will find it hard to break above that. The current IG index price is 191.82p-193.18p
The UK’s December retail sales figures are released on Friday and are expected to be relatively strong – the British Retail Consortium released healthy figures for December only last week.
This could boost stocks and it might be worth considering taking profits in the wake of the data release. If supermarket J Sainsbury reaches the top of its trading range, which is around 340p, it could be a good time to sell. Worldspreads offers a price of 330.6p- 330.8p.
WM Morrison is expected to reveal superb Christmas sales figures. It could come top of the class and outdo its competitors. We’ll find out if it managed it when Morrisons announces its trading update on Thursday. The stock hit a new year-high on Friday, reaching 299.6p. Investors obviously aren’t too worried about the changes to senior management set to take place in the next few months: the share price surged despite the setback sustained in September when it was announced that chief executive Marc Bolland was leaving the supermarket to head up Marks&Spencer. There could be more upside for Morrisons, especially if Christmas sales were strong. Spreadex has a rolling Morrison spread of 296.7p-297.4p.
Finally, Vodafone’s (not a retailer, but interesting nevertheless) stock price drifted sideways at the end of last week. This could be a good time to go long in anticipation of a breakout, especially if the price gets down to 133p. Worldspreads offers a price of 134.6p-134.8p.