NEXT climbs as it beats fears

The price of shares in FTSE 100 clothes retailer NEXT (LON:NXT) rose by 5.89% to 5,572.06p (as of 10:40 BST) as sales beat the company’s best case scenario during the second quarter. The company reported a 28% drop in full price sales for the three months relative to the same period last year, which was better than expected, and stores have now reopened across the UK and Ireland.

As a consequence of this, estimated pre-tax profits for the year have been revised upwards to £195 million.