Shares in Next were up on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading ahead of the retailer's fourth quarter statement, due tomorrow.

In November the group reported a rise in third quarter sales of 2.2 per cent and predicted full year profits of £535 million to £560 million.

Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said of tomorrow's update, "The recent cold weather could prove a significant feature. Further guidance on current year profits could also be seen whilst management's almost traditional cautious outlook could again feature. Prior to the announcement, market consensus opinion currently denotes a hold."

By 15:10 shares in Next were up 2.78 per cent on the FTSE 100 to 2,030.00.

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