Despite a Christmas advert campaign that had everyone talking, Sainsbury’s saw its first drop in Christmas sales for over 10 years, although the results were still better than expected. The mixed news has made for a mixed reaction in the markets this morning; up by more than 3.5% earlier, Sainsbury’s stock is currently up by just 0.1%. The company also reported a new record for online Christmas sales, delivering 110,000 online orders in the three days to December 23rd – a figure that looks particular strong when one takes into account other firms, some of which found themselves unable to cope with the high volume of traffic in the pre-Christmas period.
Sainsbury’s: Growth by a Thousand Cuts?
Though Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe has warned that upcoming Q4 2014 numbers will ‘remain challenging’, the firm has already begun its attempts to make 2015 the year of a turnaround, auctioning plans to cut prices on a thousand of its most popular products. Meanwhile, ASDA also announced its own price cut deal yesterday, and tomorrow will see both Tesco and M&S release their figures for the Christmas trading period – both firms are yet to announce their own plans to attempt to turn the tide in their favour.
Oil: No Light at the End of the Pipeline
Brent Crude has followed WTI in falling below the psychological barrier of the $50 per barrel mark, briefly touching a new five and a half year low of $49.92 before rising slightly to hover around the $50 mark. With OPEC maintaining its policy of refusing to cut production, there seems to be no light at the end of the pipeline at this point in time, with nothing to suggest that oil’s slide will arrest itself any time soon.
The Dow and S&P Continue to Fall
Yesterday saw another day of significant declines for US indices, with the energy sector continuing to weigh heavily on both the Dow and S&P500. Though the Dow is still more than 800 points above where it was a year ago, it’s some 600 points lower than it was just two weeks ago, at its all-time high of 18,053.71 reached on Boxing Day. Meanwhile, the S&P500 has slipped back to hover just above the 2k mark, a level that was little more than a pipe dream at this point last year but which was first breached in late August. Since then the index has fluctuated on both sides of the line, with a high of 2,090.57 and a low of 1,862.49. So, whilst not underestimating the fall that US indices have seen so far in January, it’s important to look back and see how much has been accomplished over the course of a year, despite the implosion of oil prices in the second half of 2014.
Sainsbury’s Christmas Numbers Bring Mixed Market Response
Despite a Christmas advert campaign that had everyone talking, Sainsbury’s saw its first drop in Christmas sales for over 10 years, although the results were still better than expected. The mixed news has made for a mixed reaction in the markets this morning; up by more than 3.5% earlier, Sainsbury’s stock is currently up by just 0.1%. The company also reported a new record for online Christmas sales, delivering 110,000 online orders in the three days to December 23rd – a figure that looks particular strong when one takes into account other firms, some of which found themselves unable to cope with the high volume of traffic in the pre-Christmas period.
Sainsbury’s: Growth by a Thousand Cuts?
Though Sainsbury’s CEO Mike Coupe has warned that upcoming Q4 2014 numbers will ‘remain challenging’, the firm has already begun its attempts to make 2015 the year of a turnaround, auctioning plans to cut prices on a thousand of its most popular products. Meanwhile, ASDA also announced its own price cut deal yesterday, and tomorrow will see both Tesco and M&S release their figures for the Christmas trading period – both firms are yet to announce their own plans to attempt to turn the tide in their favour.
Oil: No Light at the End of the Pipeline
Brent Crude has followed WTI in falling below the psychological barrier of the $50 per barrel mark, briefly touching a new five and a half year low of $49.92 before rising slightly to hover around the $50 mark. With OPEC maintaining its policy of refusing to cut production, there seems to be no light at the end of the pipeline at this point in time, with nothing to suggest that oil’s slide will arrest itself any time soon.
The Dow and S&P Continue to Fall
Yesterday saw another day of significant declines for US indices, with the energy sector continuing to weigh heavily on both the Dow and S&P500. Though the Dow is still more than 800 points above where it was a year ago, it’s some 600 points lower than it was just two weeks ago, at its all-time high of 18,053.71 reached on Boxing Day. Meanwhile, the S&P500 has slipped back to hover just above the 2k mark, a level that was little more than a pipe dream at this point last year but which was first breached in late August. Since then the index has fluctuated on both sides of the line, with a high of 2,090.57 and a low of 1,862.49. So, whilst not underestimating the fall that US indices have seen so far in January, it’s important to look back and see how much has been accomplished over the course of a year, despite the implosion of oil prices in the second half of 2014.
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