Debenhams & Asos trading on the front foot

Retailers were on the front foot Thursday thanks to

Debenhams and Asos posting solid results. Shares in Debenhams, up 59 percent over the last year, rose 6 percent after it increased its target for online sales to 600 million pounds, while Asos reported that its underlying pre-tax profits jumped 40 percent to 44.5 million pounds.

Alastair McCaig, market analyst at IG, said for ‘The Scotsman’: “In a heavy day for corporate reports, the clothes retailers have been interesting to watch.”

Shares at Debenhams jumped more than 9 percent and topped the FTSE 250 as analysts praised the group's performance against a difficult retail backdrop. The stock closed the trading session at 119p per share, and helped other retail stocks to make headway. It was the case of JD Sports Fashion, which lifted 12 percent to 752 pence.

As ‘The Irish Examiner’ highlighted, Debenhams has seen shares rise more than 70 percent over the past year as the group has rolled out its turnaround plan.

Meanwhile, Asos posted half-year figures including a 42 percent hike in profits. Despite the positive outlook for 2013, the cooling of potential bids on an acquisition of the fashion e-tailer sent the stock down by 7 percent, or 167p, to 2. 326 pounds.

Seymour Pierce has raised its target price for online retailer ASOS from 1,900p to 2,350p to reflect the recent share price momentum, but the broker has maintained its 'hold' rating.

Seymour analyst Freddie George said: "The founder of BestSeller, however, who holds 27% of the equity (recently increased by one percentage point), is getting closer to the 30% bidding threshold while we believe the Chinese development plans will be pushed further into the future."