Market Report: Investors have tipped Boohoo.com to be sucked into the retail carnage

Oil shares weighed on the index as Brent crude’s rally faded

Investors have tipped Boohoo.com to be sucked into the retail carnage when it issues its trading statement on Tuesday.

Most retailers have suffered since the start of December – Next, M&S, and Sports Direct among them – yet shares in the AIM-listed online fashion retailer have remained resilient. However, investors heeded broker Panmure Gordon’s advice that shares in Boohoo, which floated in March 2014 at 50p before suffering a torrid first year, were no longer worth buying.

Analyst Mike Stewart said the mild weather and heavy high-street discounting “makes the prospect of upgrades incredibly unlikely”. He added: “The shares have demonstrated resilience in a downward trending market recently and they now appear appropriately placed against the peer group.”

He downgraded the shares from buy to hold, causing them to drop 1.25p or 3.3 per cent to 36.25p.

The FTSE 100 finished the week down 41.64 points at 5,912.44, suffering its worst start to a year since 2000. IG’s senior market analyst, Chris Beauchamp, said: “Equity traders have been left bereft of reasons to be optimistic this week, and it looks like the China fears of the past few days will remain with us.”

Oil shares weighed on the index as Brent crude’s rally faded, retreating 78 cents to $32.97 a barrel. That hurt Shell, which fell 86.5p or 6 per cent to 1,375.5p – its biggest one-day fall since Black Monday in August.

Vectura puffed to all-time highs, up 10.4p to 188.5p after the FTSE 250 company completed its clinical trial for an asthma treatment. It is eligible for an extra $23m (£16m) from its partner Roxane Laboratories on reaching certain milestones.

Paysafe jumped 32.25p or 9 per cent to 394.75p as the online payments firm said annual revenues and profits will be ahead of expectations.

The former AIM company now has a market value of £1.9bn and should slot into the FTSE 250 at the next reshuffle.

Elsewhere, photo booth operator Photo-Me flashed 14p higher to 163p with business in Japan booming after the introduction of compulsory photo IDs for citizens.