JSAIY J Sainsbury Plc (QX)

By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

J Sainsbury on Tuesday continued its recovery from a 30-year low after data showed the supermarket chain was the best performer of the top four for the first time in nearly two years.

Sainsbury's shares rose 2.5% as data for the 12 weeks to Aug. 11 released by research firm Kantar showed that Sainsbury's performed better than rivals Tesco, Walmart-owned Asda and Morrisons for the first time since Nov. 2017.

Tesco shares fell 1.2% and Morrison fell 0.4%.

All four registered declining sales, ranging from a 0.6% drop at Sainsbury's to a 2.7% decline for Morrisons.

Ocado (OCDO.LN) meanwhile rose 2% as the Kantar data showed the online supermarket posted a 12.6% sales gain.

More broadly, the FTSE 100 rose 0.4% to 7218.39, a day after its best gain in nearly two weeks.

Markets clung to a tight range with traders focused on the U.S.-China trade war, the upcoming Jackson Hole Fed conference and the possibility of a payroll tax cut in the U.S.

Of other movers, AstraZeneca (AZN.LN) (AZN.LN) rose 1.7% after reporting that a late-stage trial of its Farxiga drug met its endpoint of significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular death or worsening of heart failure.

Pub chains were mostly higher a day after Greene King (GNK.LN) agreed to a 4.6 billion pound buyout offer from the conglomerate controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing. Mitchells & Butlers (MAB.LN) shares rose 4.2% and Marston's (MARS.LN) rose 2.3%, while JD Wetherspoon (JDW.LN) fell 2.6%.

Greene King shares fell 0.6% after surging on Monday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 20, 2019 05:57 ET (09:57 GMT)

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