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 3.8%, on course for their worst loss since
April 2013. 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 3.5%, 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.
The FTSE 100 was off 3 points at 6,644. 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