Discounts Drive Boxing Day Store Visits, UK Stocks Rise

Arthi Gupta
28 Dec, 2011
New York City

The UK indexes climbed in thin trading and a private think tank estimated UK jobless rate to rise to 8.8% in 2012. Thomas Cook slumped 3.3%. UK retail sales in the holiday period to Boxing Day are estimated to increase at least 4%. Boxing Day sales are estimated flat.

[R]2:15 PM London – The UK indexes climbed in thin trading and a private think tank estimated UK jobless rate to rise to 8.8% in 2012. Thomas Cook slumped 3.3%. UK retail sales in the holiday period to Boxing Day are estimated to increase at least 4%. Boxing Day sales are estimated flat.[/R]

The UK indexes climbed in thin trading volume today and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said unemployment is set to worsen next year.

In London, FTSE 100 Index gained 43.28 or 0.8% to 5,556.09 and the pound edged higher to $1.5673. For the year the FTSE 100 index declined 6%, the smallest fall in the European Union.

UK Unemployment Set to Worsen

The UK job market is set to face its toughest year in two decades next year as unemployment is forecast to rise further, a think tank reportedly said today.

Unemployment is forecast to climb to 2.85 million by the end of 2012 and the jobless rate will rise to 8.8%, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said.

The number of people with work is expected to fall by 120,000 next year as the private sector is likely to fail in employing the workforce shed by the public sector, reports said citing the CIPD.

Gainers & Losers

British American Tobacco Plc, the tobacco company climbed 2.1% to 3,062 pence.

BP plc, the oil and gas explorer fell 0.3% to $43.14 after a U.S. federal judge dismissed allegations by federal prosecutors that the company was criminally negligent in Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2009.

Max Petroleum PLC plunged 6.5% to 10.75 pence after the independent oil and gas exploration and production company focused on Kazakhstan completed drilling the SAGW-2 appraisal well in the Sagiz West Field on Block E with the well reaching a total depth of 1,451 metres without encountering producible hydrocarbons.

Thomas Cook Group plc slumped 3.3% to 14.50 pence after the travel group reported inking the sale of a Hoofddorp, Netherlands-based surplus office building to Fotex Group-owned FN2 BV, for €18 million, or £15 million.

Tesco PLC increased 2.9% to 402.30 pence and Debenhams Plc increased 2.2% to 57.85 pence on the hopes that the holiday retail sales are ahead of expectations. Most analysts are looking for comparable sales in the final three weeks to Boxing Day to increase between 4% and 6% from a year ago.

Experian, the retail analysts estimated shopper visits at stores on the Boxing Day increased 21.5% from a year ago but sales are expected to be flat on the day on heavy discounting.