Marks & Spencer stock up as M&S, Ocado top UK grocery market
Marks and Spencer Group plc finished at 382.4 pence bid and 382.6 pence ask in London trade, moving higher after a 377.8p close on Wednesday. Volume was 5.96 million shares. The FTSE 100 rose 0.76%. NIQ released the latest numbers. Ocado sales jumped 16.1% over 12 weeks, with M&S up 14.3%. Both were the fastest among big grocers in the update. UK supermarket till sales climbed 4.6% in the four weeks to June 13. But in the final two weeks, growth slowed to 0.4% and unit sales dropped 1.7%. Mike Watkins, NIQ’s head of retailer and business insight, said “hot weather boosted demand for summer essentials.”
