Tesco share price has not fared too well this week, as momentum from the positive reception of its Eat Out to Help Out campaign gets overtaken by recent events. Tesco share price dropped steeply today following the conviction of Nigel Wright, a sheep farmer implicated in a baby food poisoning scandal involving two Tesco stores. Wright was found guilty of trying to extort 1.4 million pounds of Bitcoin from the Tesco Supermarket chain, after lacing some baby food jars in several Tesco stores with metal fragments.
Wright was said to have placed some jars of contaminated baby food in at least two Tesco stores, then attempted to extort the company in exchange for information on the locations of the laced baby food. The crimes were committed between May 2018 and February 2020, and at least two witnesses testified at Wright’s trial that their babies had been fed with baby food contaminated with metal parts. The incident prompted a widespread product recall by Tesco.
This story is one of a few negative headlines to have hit the supermarket chain in recent times. Aside from staff of some of its branches contracting the coronavirus, online retail sales have started to experience a dropoff following the recovery of regular shopping activity as lockdowns are lifted across the UK.
Tesco share price is trading at 225.0, or 1.19% lower on the day as the week grinds towards a bearish close.
The bearish session for today was able to find support at the 224.0 price support, allowing Tesco share price to bounce off intraday lows at 222.7. However, a breakdown of the 224.0 support opens the door towards 220.2, with 214.0 and 211.3 lining up as possible support targets.
On the flip side, a bounce off the 224.0 support allows Tesco share price to aim for the 228.0 resistance target, with 231.4 and 234.3 forming possible new destinations to the north. Tesco share price requires a break of 234.3 to re-establish higher highs on the stock that would confirm a continuation of the recovery from the March 2020 lows.
