This is when Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Marks & Spencer provide updates on Christmas trading

Meanwhile, Sainsbury’s has seen its share of the grocery market grow to its highest level for three years after a busy festive season, Kantar data showed. A group of analysts at Jefferies said Sainsbury’s third quarter grocery sales could rise by nearly a tenth compared with the previous year, as price rises continue to cool. Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst for Hargreaves Lansdown, said : “Taste the Difference ranges are expected to have done well as people chose to treat themselves, despite the ongoing pressures on incomes.” But shoppers preferring own-brand products, or signs that consumers are expected to tighten their belts, could result in a more cautious update from the firm on Wednesday, she said.

Marks & Spencer will update investors on Christmas trading on Thursday. The upmarket grocery chain shrugged off concerns last year that shoppers were cutting back on spending, seeing food sales surge and reporting a better-than-expected half-year profit.