Next shares up 5%, M&S up 3%

UK retail stocks were on the front foot today after half-year results from John Lewis and Next showed all was not lost in the beleaguered sector.

Next shares jumped 5% and Marks & Spencer rose 3%, although the attention of the wider market was focused on the eurozone after Moody’s downgraded the credit ratings of French banks Societe Generale and Credit Agricole as worries grew about their potential exposure to the debts of Greece.