Shares in Kingfisher were down on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading ahead of the retailer's first quarter update, expected tomorrow.

The owner of B&Q said in March it had plans to expand store outlets in existing and new markets and to greatly increase online sales.

Tomorrow's update is expected to provide information on the progress of some of its plans as well as the group's figures for Q1.

Ahead of the results Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented, "The good recent weather may also have assisted B&Q's performance, while a recent relatively strong Q1 economic update from France may indicate at least stable trading for its French Castorama division.

"Finally, with the exception of China, the group's Emerging Market businesses are likely to have seen further positive trends. Prior to the update, market consensus opinion currently denotes a buy."

By13:35 shares in Kingfisher were down 0.17 per cent on the FTSE 100 to 286.60 pence per share.