Retailer Mothercare raised hopes of trading revival after seeing autumn sales begin to spark.
The group encouraged investors, reporting that the slowdown in like-for-like sales had eased in the 14 weeks to Saturday.
The fall of 1.2 per cent in UK stores compares with a decline of 3.1 per cent in the 14 weeks to July 12, as Mothercare attempts to pull out of its sales nosedive.
In July, chief executive Chris Martin quit after the firm warned it would slide into the red for the first half of its financial year.
Fortunes remained tough at the start of the autumn trading season because of the warm weather in September, but have since shown signs of improvement.
Finance director Mark McMenemy said: "The first half has been disappointing in both sales and profit. However, as expected, we are now seeing positive sales in each division as we enter the second half."
Shares in Mothercare, which have fallen from a peak of 264p earlier this year, gained nine per cent to 100.5p yesterday
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