LONDON MARKETS: Next Drops In London As Warm Weather Hurts Sales

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Next PLC were pushed down in London on Tuesday following a profit warning from the clothing retailer, but Royal Bank of Scotland PLC shares popped higher after a trading update.

Next shares fell 3.6%, on course for their worst loss since April 2013. In its profit warning, the retailer noted third-quarter sales to date have risen 6%. It previously expected a gain of 10%, and it attributed the shortfall to unusually warm weather in September. If that weather runs through October, Next said it's likely to cut its full-year earnings forecast.

Topping the FTSE 100, RBS shares tacked on 3.9%, as the bank said it expects losses from bad loans in 2014 are likely to be "significantly lower" than the GBP1 billion ($1.6 billion) that it had anticipated.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.2% to 6,636.87, and was on track for a 1.5% loss for the third quarter and a 2.6% decline for the month of September.

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