Morrison’s Christmas rise in sales boosts supermarkets

Supermarkets closed higher on the Footsie after Morrisons posted an unexpected rise in sales following its best Christmas for four years.

The Bradford-based grocer saw shares surge more than 8% after reporting a 0.2% rise in like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, in the nine weeks to January 3.

There was a mini recovery on the wider FTSE 100 Index as it lifted 57.4 points to 5929.2 after falling to its lowest level for more than three years on Monday, reflecting positive overnight trading in China.