JD Sports update lifts shares

The price of shares in FTSE 100 retailer JD Sports Fashion (LON:JD.) climbed 3.15% to 877.60p (as of 13:40 GMT) after reporting robust demand in November and December. The company said that revenues for the 22 weeks ended 2nd January were up by 5% despite enforced store closures as customers moved to digital channels.

Management said that headline profits before tax for the year ending 31st January would be ahead of market expectations, but warned that the ongoing COVID pandemic meant that there were considerable uncertainties heading into the next period.