Next and Asos lift weak FTSE

The FTSE 100 index dropped 0.5 percent to close at 6,327.36, losing a 4-year height.

However, fashion stocks fared well that other London-quoted companies, being Next and Asos among the market movers.

The British benchmark index retreated Thursday from its highest closing level since May 2008 reached on Wednesday. Despite the gloomy session, shares of fashion retailer Next PLC gained 1.2 percent, after HSBC lifted the stock to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’. The bank further raised its recommendation on online clothing retailer Asos PLC in the same fashion: to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’, sending its shares 1.5 percent higher.

In comparison, the FashionUnited Top 100 Index added 3.51 points on Thursday, closing at 1,407.83.

Meanwhile, Skechers USA Inc.’s has beaten Zack´s expectations with its fourth-quarter 2012 earnings coming in at 8 cents a share, far above the loss of 54 cents delivered in the prior-year quarter. Now, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is of a loss of 11 cents on the back of growth witnessed across domestic wholesale, international, and company-operated retail businesses.

Fast Retailing, parent company to Uniqlo – which has made it to the news after revealing it next focus to be Indonesia -, gained 230 yen to 24,910 yen.

Finally, VF Corporation (VFC) was trading low ahead Friday, when it will be reporting for the quarter ending December 31, 2012. Consensus earnings per share forecast from the 16 analysts that follow the stock is 3.03 dollars, reported ‘NASDAQ’. This value represents a 30.60 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year. In the past year VFC has beat the expectations every quarter.