A trading update from ASOS (LON: ASOS) is unlikely to resuscitate the online retailer’s flailing share price when markets open today.
Sales in the six months to 3 March were down 18%, though this was hardly unexpected, given a resurgence in high street shopping and ongoing cost of living pressures.
ASOS is at pains to clear aged stock and reduce inventory before transitioning to a new operating model in 2025, the group stated in the update.
Chief executive José Antonio Ramos Calamonte said: “ASOS is becoming a faster and more agile business, aided by the incredible work of our teams to speed up all of our processes to deliver the fashion, quality and prices that our customers want when they want it.
“I’m excited by the performance of our new collections, while we have also made great progress in monetising inventory that built up over the pandemic and in improving the core profitability of our operations.”
Full-year guidance remained unchanged.
Blue chips to fall
The FTSE 100 index is expected to fall around 20 points to a flat 7,900 when markets open today after closing 13 points lower on Monday.
US stocks also closed lower yesterday, with the Dow Jones down 0.4% and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down 0.3% each.
With no news on the macroeconomic front, there may be little to sway UK blue chips in today’s opening exchanges.
On the company news front, Ocado (LON: OCDO) will shortly provide a trading update, with investors hoping for calm after a recent dramatic showdown with M&S over the duo’s joint venture.
William Hill owner 888 Holdings PLC (LON:888) and Ladbrokes owner Flutter Entertainment PLC (LON: FLTRF) show us the state of the gambling industry with their annuals, while YouGov PLC (LON: YOU) reports its interim.
Source: https://uk.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/stocks-to-open-lower-as-ocado-betting-firms-report-3401387
