Shares in major British retailers fell on Thursday after trading updates covering the Christmas period mostly failed to live up to expectations, against a backdrop of turmoil in the UK bond and currency markets.

Shares in Marks & Spencer fell over 6%, their biggest daily drop since March 2023, while Tesco fell 2% and rival Sainsbury dropped 1.8%.

Shares in discount homeware retailer B&M dropped over 8% and baker Greggs fell over 9% and was at the bottom of the STOXX 600 after reporting weaker-than-forecast like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter, citing a “challenging market backdrop”.

By 0840 GMT, those five alone had shed about GBP2 billion in market value, according to Reuters calculations.

The pound fell to its lowest since November on Thursday, dropping by over 1%, while 10-year gilt yields soared to their highest since 2008, as concern over Britain’s finances intensified.