Sector movers: Supermarket stocks hit by ongoing horsemeat scandal

15th Feb 2013 15:16

The horsemeat scandal in the UK continued to take its toll on the supermarkets on Friday, with food retail stocks among the worst performers of the day.Walmart's Asda said this morning that it was forced to take its 'Chosen By You 350g Beef Bolognese' sauce off its shelves following the detection of horse DNA. Unsurprisingly, the company behind the sauce, London-listed Irish food producer Greencore, saw shares sink today.The controversy began last month when horsemeat was discovered in beef burgers sold at Tesco (down 1.13% today), which sparked an industry-wide investigation into the possible contamination of frozen beef products, damaging the reputation of food producers and retailers nationwide.Just last week, tests on Aldi's beef lasagne and spaghetti Bolognese found that some ready-made meals contained up to 100% horsemeat.Contract catering group Compass was forced to admit today that traces of horsemeat have been found in the burgers of one of its suppliers, Rangeland Foods. Meanwhile, pub and hotel chain Whitbread had also found equine DNA in two of its products.Morrisons, which owns its own farms, saw shares rise 0.35% today as it continues to take advantage of its competitors' tattered reputations. The company on Thursday reported a jump in fresh-meat sales of 18% over the last month.Morrisons' Chief Executive Dalton Philips said: "Because we work direct with farms, even owning our very own, our counters and expert staff can confidently offer the most reliable meat to customers." Top performing sectors so far todaySoftware & Computer Services 1,050.19 +1.97%Technology Hardware & Equipment 1,138.83 +1.59%Household Goods & Home Construction 9,415.71 +1.29%Media 5,216.59 +0.79%Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 10,062.40 +0.75%Bottom performing sectors so far todayFood & Drug Retailers 4,401.82 -0.96%Construction & Materials 3,845.66 -0.42%Financial Services 6,455.88 -0.42%Industrial Metals & Mining 3,114.73 -0.22%Aerospace and Defence 4,261.29 -0.18%BC