Next slumps on reiterating annual profit decline
Exportoriented companies rise as pound slides
UP Global records worst day in over a month on profit fall
FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 add 0.6, each

March 29 Reuters UK stocks edged higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in banks on easing fears of a financial sector meltdown, but Next hit a nearly threemonth low after the retail bellwether maintained its cautious outlook for the year.

Next Plc slumped 6.2 after the fashion retailer said that higher costs for wages and energy were still expected to reduce its profit this year, even as it reported higher annual profit.

The exportersheavy FTSE 100 rose 0.6, while the domestically focussed FTSE 250 also added 0.6.

Overall sentiment has been boosted by the quelling of banking worries, said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

That39;s helping offset a big fall for Next, after it reiterated guidance that sales would fall this year. Hopes that a magic wand might materialise to dramatically improve the retailer39;s fortunes have ebbed away.

Late on Tuesday, John Glen, chief secretary to the UK Treasury, told Reuters that Britain39;s banks had not seen deposit outflows in reaction to the failures of U.S. regional lenders, aiding a 1.2 gain in UK lenders.

Both the FTSE indexes had ended the first two months of 2023 higher, buoyed by China39;s reopening and signs of stability in the domestic economy.

However, concerns about still high domestic…