Shares in Morrison (WM) were up on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading, ahead of the supermarket chain's full year results, expected tomorrow.

In January the group reported better than expected like for like sales growth, excluding VAT and fuel, of one per cent over the Christmas period. Recent research also indicated that Morrison has been able to hold onto market share better than larger rivals like Tesco.

Morrison's has also had until now a relatively strong balance sheet, leading to hopes that tomorrow might see the group announce a share buyback programme and/or a significant hike in dividend payments.

Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said ahead of the results, "On a consensus forecast basis, revenues are expected to rise by 7.5 per cent to £16.56 billion. Pre-tax profit is forecast to rise by 12.7 per cent to £864.4 million. Ahead of the announcement, market consensus opinion currently notes a cautious buy."

By 15:10 shares in Morrison (WM) were up 0.04 per cent on the FTSE 100 to 279.90 pence per share.

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