Threating interest rise weights retailers

European shares fell for a seventh straight day on

Thursday and so did the FashionUnited Top 100, which lost over 16 points in its toughest session to date. European retailers dragged the trading, under pressure on an uninviting consumer spending outlook and banks falling ahead of the European Central Bank's monthly rate-setting decision.

In the FTSE 100 – which ended up by 11 at 5,821-, fashion retailers M&S and Next were among the heaviest fallers, being the latter 0.22% below its Wednesday´s close. Amidst a not precisely propitious climate, the FashionUnited Top 100 Index went down to 1270.12, noting a loss of 16.83 points.

Sports and fashion retailer JD Sports has reported a further decline in trading levels since the start of its financial year, in an interim management statement published today. By the end of the session, the athletic apparel firm lost 0.66%.

In April the firm reported that UK & Ireland like-for-like (LFL) sales for the first eight weeks of its financial calendar to March 26th 2011 dropped 1.2 per cent but in the year to June 4th this has worsened to a decline of 2.8 per cent year-on-year.

Exception made of Hermés International, most of luxury and high end fashion retailers closed in red, including the likes of LVMH or Inditex.

Alien to the British retailers struggling on Thursday were the main French fashion companies, led by the love-hate relationship of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA and Hermés International. LVMH finally spoke yesterday, assuring that the largest maker of luxury goods, doesn’t intend to bid for Hermes, the bag maker in which it holds a 20.2 percent stake, an LVMH spokesman said. Hermes shares rose 2.2 percent to 191.95 euros, and LVMH gained 0.7 percent to 116.90 euros.

In the Far East, Tokyo stocks rose Thursday as a slightly weaker yen was enough to push the otherwise lethargic Nikkei Stock Average into positive territory, helped by buying in Fast Retailing Co. Uniqlo clothing chain operator was up 0.92 per cent at 12,000.