A further snapshot of the dire conditions faced on the UK high street meant a handful of consumer-focused stocks were on the back foot today.

Premier Inn and Costa owner Whitbread, which has been one of the better performers in the retail sector, reported slowing quarterly revenues growth, while Carpetright posted sharply lower profits.

The wider market held firm after a difficult session yesterday saw the FTSE 100 Index fall by more than 100 points. Asian markets followed suit overnight, with Monday’s profits warning from chipmaker Intel a major reason, but the top flight in London steadied to stand 3.7 points lower at 5424.7.

Whitbread’s shares were 93.5p lower at 1482.5p after it said like-for-like sales growth slowed to 2.4% in the 13 weeks to December 1, compared with 3% in the 39 weeks to December 1. It added that revenues growth in the London hotel market had "virtually disappeared" although it continues to boost market share.

Other fallers in the retail sector included B&Q owner Kingfisher, which dropped 2.9p to 245.2p, while Homebase rival Home Retail fell 2.4p to 85p.

Carpetright’s underlying profits fell 86% to £1.4 million but the decline was not as large as analysts feared, helping shares rise 33.65p to 429.15p.