BUSINESS LIVE: M&S wins Christmas crown; Tesco lifts forecasts; SEC approves Bitcoin spot ETFs

Chris Beckett, head of equity research at Quilter Cheviot:

‘Tesco and M&S have followed up Sainsbury’s relatively positive Christmas update with a bit of festive cheer of their own. They have both delivered good results and are taking market share. With Sainsbury’s claiming the same, the private equity backed supermarkets, Asda and Morrisons, must still be suffering and not enjoying quite the same positivity.

‘Interestingly in the results we are seeing a good picture of the British consumer. M&S is seeing its value range of food items do very well, up 18%, while Tesco saw its Finest range climb 17%. Both ranges probably compete with one another on price and thus you are seeing a consumer who is willing to spend a little bit extra still, especially on special occasions.

‘We are also seeing a return to growth for online shopping following the post-Covid normalisation. Both Tesco and M&S saw double digit growth here in food and clothing, so it will be interesting to see if this is matched by others, such as Ocado, or if it is a stock specific story.

‘For investors, both companies are not particularly expensive and have had good 2023s. Tesco has delivered an explicit upgrade to guidance, while M&S has implied a small one, but has subsequently been treated more harshly by the market. These results effectively complete its turnaround story, and given how much the share price has gone up in the last year, perhaps investors are using these results as a time to take some profits.’

The US securities regulator has finally given the green light for the launch of exchange-traded funds tracking the price of Bitcoin, marking a watershed moment for crypto assets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday gave approval for the launch of 11 Bitcoin ETFs, with funds lined-up from Wall Street giants BlackRock and Fidelity, as a long-running regulatory saga nears its end.

It’s been a rocky year for Bitcoin. Since the collapse of FTX, the leading cryptocurrency has failed to reach the dizzying heights it reached in 2022.

Tesco is on track for better-than-expected profits this year after enjoying record sales over the Christmas period.

Tesco expects a retail-adjusted operating profit of £2.75billion for the year, up from a previous range of between £2.6billion and £2.7billion.

Bosses at the supermarket giant said its growth was boosted by investment to keep prices low, as it joins rivals in efforts to stop shoppers switching to fast-growing German discount rivals Aldi and Lidl.

Marks & Spencer Group sales beat lofty expectations over the key Christmas trading period as groceries and womenswear drove a surge in demand.

The retailer’s like-for-like sales soared 8.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to 30 December, as food sales growth smashed forecasts at 9.9 per cent, and clothing and home revenues jumped 4.8 per cent – well ahead of expectations of 2.8 per cent.

Boss Stuart Machin said M&S had led the food market with volume growth of around 7 per cent in each month of the quarter, serving ‘more customers than ever before’, while womenswear was the ‘standout, growing volume and value significantly ahead of the market’.