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The luxury stocks’ slide shows little sign of slowing.
On another gloomy day for the sector, Cartier owner Richemont and Hugo Boss became the latest fashion brands to sound the alarm over weak demand.
This comes days after British firms Mulberry and Burberry fired their chief executives following poor results.
Richemont, which also owns Chloe and Van Cleef & Arpels, said group sales rose 1 percent to £4.2 billion in the first quarter to the end of June.
Sales in Asia Pacific fell 18 percent during the period as strong sales in South Korea and Malaysia failed to offset a huge drop in China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Out of fashion: a Hugo Boss show. On another gloomy day for the luxury goods industry, Richemont and Hugo Boss became the latest brands to sound the alarm about weak demand
At the same time, Hugo Boss issued a profit warning amid weak demand in China and Britain.
The German brand has cut its 2024 profit forecast from between £362m and £399m to between £294m and £362m.
And Burberry, which on Monday issued a profit warning and scrapped its dividend, was hit by four downgrades from brokers.
Richemont shares fell 3.1 percent, while Hugo Boss shares fell 7.5 percent to their lowest level since May 2021.
Burberry lost another 5.3 percent, or 39.4 pence, to 704.6 pence, and has now lost half its value this year.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent, or 18.06 points, to 8,164.9, but the FTSE 250 rose 0.1 percent, or 11.66 points, to 21,213.79.
Water companies have plunged into the red after the industry regulator widened its investigation into sewage spills.
Stock Observatory – Trufin
Trufin shares fell after Lloyds ended a deal with one of its companies.
The AIM-listed holding company, which brings together three fintech and lending specialists, said the British bank signed a five-year deal with Satago in July 2022.
But Lloyds has now exercised its right to terminate the agreement that allowed the London-based fintech to license its software platform to some of the bank’s clients.
Shares fell 34.7 percent, or 26.4 pence, to 49.6 pence.
Ofwat added four companies, including Severn Trent (down 4.8 per cent, or 125p, to 2,473p) and United Utilities (down 3.7 per cent, or 38p, to 997p), to its investigation amid concerns they are also failing to minimise pollution.
The watchdog said it was the “largest and most complex investigation” it has ever carried out, involving all 11 water companies in England and Wales. South West Water owner Pennon fell 4.5 per cent, or 29.5p, to 620.5p.
Credit rating agency Experian still expects sales to grow by 6% to 8% in the fiscal year, after a 7% rise in the first quarter to the end of June. Shares fell 2%, or 73p, to 3,567p.
Spectris is to buy US materials analytics company Micromeritics for £485m. The precision instrument specialist could also receive an additional £41m in performance-related payments for this year and 2025. The shares rose 2.6 per cent, or 80p, to 3,118p.
Rio Tinto came under pressure after reporting weaker-than-expected iron ore shipments in the second quarter to the end of June.
But regulators cleared the miner to develop its joint venture iron ore project in Guinea. Shares fell 2.3 percent, or 121 pence, to 5,071 pence.
Sosandar plans to open stores in Marlow and Chelmsford in September. The fashion retailer racked up a £300,000 loss in the year to the end of March despite a profitable second half. Shares fell 2 per cent, or 0.2p, to 10.05p.
Publishers Bloomsbury has announced a strong start to the year. The company has delivered strong results for the four months to 30 June and expects full-year results to meet forecasts of revenues of £319.3m and profits of £37.6m.
However, shares fell 0.6 percent, or 4 pence, to 710 pence.
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