BUSINESS LIVE: UK retail sales rose in August; Ashtead Group names new CFO; Michelmersh’s profits slump

Listening to a chief executive deliver a corporate report on his quarterly earnings is not most people’s idea of a great party.

Except when the company concerned is Nvidia, the US computer chip designer otherwise known as The Most Important Stock on Planet Earth.

Retail sales volumes increased by an annual rate of 1% in August, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Growth was driven by warm weather and the Paris Olympics encouraging Britons to purchase food for social occasions, as well as stronger demand for clothing, health and beauty products.

Linda Ellett, UK Head of Consumer, Retail & Leisure at KPMG, said: Consumer sentiment is gradually starting to improve, but there still remains some nervousness around potential tax rises and the cost of putting the heating back on when the cooler weather arrives.

The fragile nature of consumer confidence means shoppers will continue to be driven by price and value, moving from brand to brand to find the best price benefit and we are likely to see retailers using promotional activity to seek to win at this.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on the markets this morning:

The FTSE 100 has opened a touch higher as investors digest several corporate releases plus fresh retail data that suggests consumer spending power is just about sticking in there.

BRC data covering August showed a meagre 1% rise in non-food retail sales and Barclays card spending showed a similar rise, as consumers gear up for next month’s energy bill increase and the potential for tax hikes from Labour’s first budget.

US markets took a day off yesterday, with futures trading suggesting a weaker opening later today. There are some tough seasonal trends ahead, as September has historically been a poor month for the S&P 500.

Couple that with political and geopolitical uncertainty, and investors are likely in for a choppy month. US non-farm payroll figures on Friday are the highlight of the week, which could have a meaningful impact on the size of the first Fed cut later this month.