Gains for JD Sports, Just Eat, and Sainsbury's despite Omicron flare-up          

Large companies relying on selling goods and services to consumers came through the Omicron flare-up in remarkably good shape, a batch of new corporate trading updates suggest

JD Sports raised its annual profit forecast for the second time in four months.

Large companies relying on selling goods and services to consumers – including JD Sports, Just Eat, and the owner of Premier Inn – came through the Omicron flare-up in remarkably good shape, a batch of new corporate trading updates suggest.            

Retailer JD Sports – which also owns DTLR Villa and Shoe Palace in the US – raised its annual profit forecast for the second time in four months, despite the myriad of challenges including supply chain disruption and inflation. Its shares, which had already climbed above their pre-pandemic levels, were little changed on the latest update to value the firm at £11.3bn (€13.5bn).