Sector movers: Morrison leads supermarket comeback after press speculation

13th Jan 2014 15:14

Supermarkets were lifting the food and drug retail sector higher on Monday as stocks recovered following a tough week for the industry.Morrison, Tesco and Sainsbury were all making decent gains in afternoon trade after all three grocers disappointed investors with poor like-for-like (LFL) sales over Christmas.Morrison, in particular, was a heavy faller last week after surprising the market with a 5.6% plunge in LFL sales during the festive season, causing the stock to fall to levels not seen in over five years.However, the share price was up a solid 6.1% at 250.6p on Monday after weekend reports that it is considering disposing of property to fund a capital return to win back investors. According to The Sunday Times, the retailer could raise up to £800m from reducing its property portfolio.Ocado, the online grocery firm which is currently helping Morrison to develop an internet shopping service to help it compete with its bigger rivals Tesco and Sainsbury, was performing well on Monday, rising over 5%.Tesco and Sainsbury were also on shopping lists, as investors hunted for bargains after the recent sell-off.Others in the sector were also higher, including convenience store group Conviviality Retail, bakery chain Greggs and food producer Total Produce.Top performing sectors so far todayFood & Drug Retailers 4,356.77 +2.43%Forestry & Paper 10,997.56 +1.90%Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution 22,330.24 +1.78%Automobiles & Parts 9,106.77 +1.30%Mining 15,892.89 +1.23%Bottom performing sectors so far todayTobacco 34,134.49 -1.43%Electricity 9,096.45 -1.36%Gas, Water & Multiutilities 5,508.86 -0.67%Mobile Telecommunications 5,423.40 -0.66%Household Goods & Home Construction 11,193.60 -0.51%BC