Expectations of poor retailing figures covering the Christmas period look set to push the FTSE lower today, with the index down a fraction at about 4,840 so far.
A survey from the British Retail Consortium suggests sales in shops open for at least a year dropped 0.4%, as five interest-rate increases and a cooler housing market cut consumer spending. Morrisons, the supermarket chain, is down 6.75p to 208.75p after casting its own gloom on festive period trading. The company has warned shareholders to expect less sales growth this coming year. Shares in Aviva and Legal & General are down after analysts advised investors to lessen their holdings in both insurers. Legal & General is down 2p to 115.50p, while Aviva has slipped 10.50p to 632p. M...
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