By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Next PLC were pushed down in
London on Tuesday following a profit warning from the clothing
retailer, but Royal Bank of Scotland PLC shares popped higher after
a trading update.
Next shares fell 4.6%, on course for their worst loss since
September 2012. In its profit warning, the retailer noted
third-quarter sales to date have risen 6%. It previously expected a
gain of 10%, and it attributed the shortfall to unusually warm
weather in September. If that weather runs through October, Next
said it's likely to cut its full-year earnings forecast.
But near the top of the FTSE 100, RBS shares tacked on 2.5%, as
the bank said it expects losses from bad loans in 2014 are likely
to be "significantly lower" than the GBP1 billion ($1.6 billion)
that it had anticipated.
Shares of Associated British Foods PLC were up 3.5% as Primark's
parent company was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit
Suisse. (Read more about European stock movers
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/next-falls-primarks-parent-climbs-european-stock-moves-2014-09-30.).
The FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% to 6,641.90. It was on track for a
1.5% loss for the third quarter and a 2.6% decline for the month of
September.
As the rest of Europe received mixed economic data Tuesday, the
U.K.'s Office for National Statistics said the British economy
expanded 0.9% in the second quarter. That compares with the
previous growth estimate of 0.8% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires