<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
Billions of pounds have been wiped from the value of luxury stocks, including British fashion house Burberry.
Shares in the sector fell after French giant Kering warned that sales of Gucci, its biggest brand, were down around 20 percent in the first quarter of the year.
Overall revenue at the company, which also includes Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, is trending toward a 10 percent decline over the three months.
“This mainly reflects a stronger decline in Gucci sales,” Kering said, fueling fears of subdued demand for expensive products such as handbags and coats in China. Kering fell 11.9 percent in Paris.
The rout resonated across the sector, with Burberry falling 3.3 percent, or 40.5 points, to 1,189.5 points in London, while Louis Vuitton owner LVMH lost 1 .6 percent in Paris and Cartier’s parent company, Richemont, lost 2.2 percent in Zurich.
Fashion failure: British fashion house Burberry fell 3.3% after French giant Kering warned that Gucci’s sales were down around 20% in the first quarter of the year.
At one point the crisis had wiped almost £25bn off the value of a sector reeling following a Burberry results warning in January, amid slowing demand for luxury goods. luxury.
Florian Ielpo, head of macro research at Lombard Odier Asset Management, warned that the sector is “starting to reveal fractures” and added: “The underlying factor is the uncertain state of the Chinese consumer.”
Analysts at Vital Knowledge said: “This will raise further concerns about the state of consumer spending and the Chinese economy. »
The FTSE 100 fell 0.01 percent, or 0.92 points, to 7,737.38, while the FTSE 250 rose 0.27 percent, or 51.59 points, to 19,484.40.
Stock markets in general struggled to find direction ahead of last night’s meeting of the US Federal Reserve, at which the world’s most powerful central bank is expected to leave interest rates unchanged once again .
Action Monitoring – Computacenter
Computacenter, which sells technology services to the public and private sectors, has reported bumper revenues as large companies have invested huge sums in their IT systems.
Annual turnover increased by 7 per cent to £6.9 billion in 2023, while profits increased by 5.1 per cent to £278 million.
But shares fell 6.5 per cent, or 190p, to 2752p, with results falling short of analysts’ expectations.
The FTSE 250 company is currently considering how to spend a record £459m of cash, with buybacks the most likely option.
Attention will turn to the Bank of England today, as it is expected to keep rates at 5.25 percent, their highest level in 16 years, despite inflation falling to 3.4 percent. hundred in February.
In London, Rolls-Royce edged up 1.5 percent, or 6 points, to 406.7 points, after hitting an all-time high in the previous session.
The value of its shares has more than quadrupled since the start of last year.
Close Brothers rose 8.8 per cent, or 30.6p, to 378p after analysts at Berenberg raised their price target to 470p from 425p.
It followed a 4 percent gain in the previous session when it said it would shore up its finances amid an investigation into the auto finance market.
The scandal, which could see up to 7 million people compensated after being wrongly sold expensive car loans, is feared to cost the industry billions. Close Brothers is in the crosshairs.
Greggs fell 0.4 per cent, or 12p, to 2,818p, after temporarily closing its stores due to IT problems preventing payments from being accepted.
Johnson Matthey, which makes catalytic converters and pollution filters, is selling its medical device components business to Montagu Private Equity for £550m. Shares rose 7.8 per cent, or 132.5p to 1840p.
And Investec gained 3.4 per cent, or 16.8p, to 507.8p after saying it expected to report profits of between £866.9m and £909.6m for the year ends at the end of March.