Marks & Spencer's Shares Surge After A Drop In Sales Because Even 'Bad' Is Better Than 'Worse'

Results just out from Marks & Spencer, one of Britain's biggest food and clothing retailers, should have been bad news. Sales in the first half of the year dropped 2.3%, with an even worse 6.3% decline online.

That's 13 straight quarters of declines. The retailer tried to blame a warm September for poor sales, since the first cold snap usually drives winter clothing to the tills.

So why are shares up 8.2% this morning?

Everything's currently so poor for UK retailers, that analysts were expecting worse, and this is actually a pleasant surprise. Mike van Dulken at Accendo Markets explains in a note:

It's gotten to the point that expectations are so low, even a minor disappointment is enough to send stocks upward.