London’s blue chip index bounced back in early trading after closing 36.24 points lower on Tuesday over HSBC's (HSBA) turnaround plans. The FTSE 100 trades 13.12 points, or 0.20%, higher at 6,766 on Wednesday thanks to better than expected results from unloved supermarkets giant Sainsbury's (SBRY).
The company gathers up 2.4% at 254.9p, despite reporting a 2.1% decline in first quarter like-for-like sales amid cut-throat competition and sharp food price deflation. The decline isn't as bad as consensus feared, and CEO Mike Coupe flags encouraging early trends delivered by his turnaround strategy.
OneSavings Bank (OSB) dips 4.8% to 304.6p on management proposing tosell £5.5 million worth of their shares to institutions. The price has not been disclosed.
Pure-play online fashion retailer Boohoo.com (BOO:AIM) bounces 7.23% higher to 27.88p on a better-than-expected first quarter trading statement. The running Play of the Week's growth strategy is back on track following a January profit warning, with sales momentum picking up in the UK, the key near-term growth driver.
Budget footwear purveyor Shoe Zone (SHOE), also recovering from an earnings alert, is back in fashion this morning. The shares rise 8.6% to 177p on reassuring half-year results, including news of positive progress with online and store portfolio initiatives, as well as a soothing current trading statement. We explained why the Shoe Zone sell-off looked overdone here in May.
Car competition runner Best of the Best (BOTB) surges 11.5% to 146p after reporting pre-tax profit of £0.81 million for the year to 30 April, up from £0.45 million the previous year. Revenue is up 26% to £8.8 million as the business benefits from its move to a weekly competition, which has boosted new customer acquisition.
Tiny entertainment marketing play Reach4entertainment (R4E:AIM) gains 63% to 2.32p as it agrees a deal with Allied Irish Banks to restructure and pay off a £14.8 million loan facility. The £1.7 million cap hopes to replace it with a cheaper facility.
LED lighting company Dialight (DIA) collapses 36% to 472.13p after warning that profits for 2015 will massively miss expectations. The market had been expecting £22 million of pre-tax profit on £195 million revenues, but we can expect those numbers to be substantially lowered.
Audio and medical chip tech minnow Toumaz (TMZ:AIM) jumps 33% to 5p as it signs a Cast-for-Audio co-development agreement with web search giant Google (GOOG:NDQ).
Motive Television (MTV:AIM) jumps 25% to 0.01p as its first TabletTV apps go live on Google's app store.
