LONDON/FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Disappointing statements about the financial year that has just begun abruptly halted the recent rally in JD Sports shares on Wednesday. Shares in the sports retailer had slumped by up to 13 percent to 81 pence at one point. This brought them back to their level at the beginning of May. Most recently, they were down six percent, putting them in last place in the largely unchanged FTSE 100 index.
When presenting its detailed annual figures, JD Sport announced that sales in the first quarter were likely to have fallen by two percent on a like-for-like basis. The sports retailer attributed this to the decline in sales in its North American business.
Analyst Monique Pollard from US bank Citigroup spoke of "disappointing business performance" in the current quarter and a lack of updated forecasts for the current fiscal year. She also referred to the company's comments on the "volatile market" and the "low predictability of the impact of US tariffs."
The slump in JD Sports' share price also affected the shares of German online retailer Zalando. They fell below the closely watched 200-day moving average, which is considered an indicator of the long-term trend. Most recently, the shares were among the weakest performers in the DAX index, losing a good one percent. /la/ag/jha/
