The Wm Morrison revival continues. In the doldrums after its purchase of rival Safeway, the company has been slowly turning things round. The latest TNS Worldpanel figures show it increasing its market share again last month.
It has jumped from 11% a year ago to 11.5%, according to TNS. Tesco meanwhile has slipped from 31.5% to 31.4%, while J Sainsbury is down from 16.5% to 16.4%.
Edward Garner of TNS said: "As we saw last period, [Morrison's] growth is the highest for any of the retailers measured. The relaunch advertising, featuring Lulu and Alan Hansen amongst others, together with strong promotions, has certainly borne fruit."
With the overall market down following the poor US figures, Morrison was hardly likely to be immune. So its shares are 10.5p lower at 294.5p despite the TNS news. A couple of downgrades didn't help, with Lehman cutting its price target from 360p to 334p and Goldman from 350p to 335p.
The FTSE 100, meanwhile, is now 125.4 points down at 5900.8, with Wall Street around 225 points lower.
