- FTSE 100 adds just 2 points on the day
- Fed's preferred inflation measure fall lifts US stocks
- NatWest, IAG, AstraZeneca, StanChart higher after results
4.30pm: Late recovery
The FTSE recovered shortly before the close to end the final session of the week marginally firmer as US stocks pushed higher. London's blue-chip index added less than 0.1% to 7,694, after declining to 7,680 a short while earlier.
“It’s been a subdued end to a positive week for European markets, with the FTSE100 pushing up to a 2-month high before slipping back, while the DAX has managed to close at a new record high, despite the German economy stagnating in Q2," commented CMC Markets' Michael Hewson.
"AstraZeneca is the main reason the FTSE100 is outperforming its European peers after reporting a strong set of Q2 numbers, as well as signing a deal with Pfizer to acquire a portfolio of rare disease gene therapies.”
By the London close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7% at 35,539, the S&P had gained 1.1% to 4,587 and the Nasdaq was 1.9% higher at 14,318.
3.45pm: Crude moves
Oil prices were steady to a touch higher on Friday afternoon with investors optimistic about demand and supply cuts keeping prices firmer.
UK Brent crude was up 0.1% at $82.93 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also added 0.1% at $80.60 a barrel.
Both oil benchmarks are on track for around a 3.5% weekly rise, marking a fifth straight week of gains, bolstered by supply cuts from the OPEC+ alliance announced earlier this month.
Increased risk appetite in wider financial markets has also helped fuelled by growing expectations that central banks such as the Fed and European Central Bank are nearing the end of policy tightening campaigns, boosting the outlook for global growth and energy demand.
Bullish demand expectations were lifted by an easing in the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, supporting Fed chair Jerome Powell's view that the economy can achieve a "soft landing."
Meanwhile, policymakers in China this week pledged to step up stimulus measures to invigorate the post-COVID recovery after the world's second-largest economy grew at a snail’s pace in the second quarter.
On the supply side, evidence of tightening is mounting, given declining US inventories and Saudi Arabia's voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day, Commerzbank analysts noted, highlighting this month could have seen OPEC oil production plunge to its lowest level since the autumn of 2021.
3.20pm: Greater consistency wanted
Analysts at Berenberg have trimmed their target price for Barclays to 260p from 270p but maintained a 'buy' recommendation on the bank's shares following recent results.
In the German bank analyst's opinion, investors wanted greater consistency in the lender's returns.
Since the 2021 financial year, Barclays has achieved a return on tangible equity in excess of 10% and of 13.2% in the first half of 2023.
But its shares were changing hands at just 0.5 times their tangible book value and fell 5% on the back of its latest results, due to weaker-than-expected revenues.
On the other side of the ledger, the analysts believe that Barclays's returns would be supported by a long-term net interest income tailwind, cyclically stronger investment banking activity and robust asset quality.
Considering around a 6% annual dividend yield and around 5% buybacks, investors are increasingly being paid to wait while Barclays demonstrates greater RoTE consistency, the Berenberg analysts said.
In afternoon trading, Barclays shares were changing hands at 155.48p, up 0.05%.
2.50pm: Wall Street wanted
The FTSE 100 hovered around opening levels midafternoon having given back earlier gains as US stocks moved higher at the open on Friday buoyed by further evidence inflation is cooling.
Around 20 minutes after the New York open, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.9%, and the Dow Jones Industrials Average rose 163 points or 0.5% at 35,447.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased just 3.0% in June, at the lowest level since March 2021, down from 3.8% in May. It rose 0.2% month-over-month in June, up from 0.1% in the previous month. The decrease was driven by falling gas prices and a slowdown in grocery cost growth.
The core PCE index, which removes the more volatile food and energy components and is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 4.1% from a year ago, below the expected 4.2%.
This marked the lowest rate since September 2021 and was a decrease from May’s reading of 4.6%. It rose 0.2% month-over-month, which was in line with the Dow Jones estimate.
The Commerce Department’s data also showed that consumer spending remains resilient, up 0.5% to $110.4 billion in June.
“This morning’s US macro data is another nice combination that fits the soft landing narrative the market is currently enamoured with,” ING chief international economist James Knightley said.
“This should give us greater confidence that the Fed's focal point on inflation - core services ex shelter – will continue to slow, just as goods prices and housing are slowing and we can realistically get back to the 2% target without much further, if any, policy tightening.”
2.30pm: Read all about it
The boards of the Telegraph newspaper and The Spectator magazine have appointed investment bank Goldman Sachs and law firm Linklaters to advise on their sale, Reuters has reported, citing a statement released on Friday.
Lender Lloyds Banking Group seized control of the centre-right Daily and Sunday Telegraph and the politics-led Spectator last month after their ultimate owners, the Barclay family, failed to repay loans.
"At this initial stage, the Boards and their advisers will assess the readiness of the two titles for a sale, including customary vendor due diligence," the board of the newspapers and magazine's parent companies - led by recently appointed chair Mike McTighe - said.
Telegraph Media Group on Tuesday posted a rise in subscriptions and profit in 2022 and said it was on track to meet its target of 1 million subscribers by the end of the year.
2.10pm: US core inflation softens
There was more good news on the inflation front for the Federal Reserve, with the June personal consumption expenditures (PCE) core price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, continuing to soften.
The core PCE fell to an annualised 4.1% last month from 4.6% in May, below expectations for 4.2%, and the employment cost index, cited as a key metric to monitor by Fed chair Jerome Powell in this week’s post-policy meeting press conference, also fell to 1.0% from 1.2%, the slowest pace in two years and below expectations at 1.1%.
John Leiper, chief investment officer, Titan Asset Management, commented: "Markets will likely interpret this in a positive light as it suggests progress on taming inflation remains broadly on track which decreases the probability of another quarter-point rate hike in September, and with consumer spending picking up slightly in June a soft landing seems increasingly do-able.
"That said, it is only one reading and we will have to see additional evidence to reassure the Fed, and investors, that the direction of travel remains intact."
1.42pm: A look at some of the top risers and fallers on the junior market
WH Ireland Group PLC (AIM:WHI) shares slumped 74% after the broker and wealth manager secured £5mln of emergency funding against the backdrop of a severe downturn in UK market activity. New stock was sold to existing and new investors at 3p per share, representing a hefty 86.67% discount to Thursday's close.
Shares in Vanquis Banking Group, the former Provident Financial (LSE:PFG), tumbled 24.5% to 136.6p after the company announced a swing to losses in the first half. An adjusted loss before tax of £5.5mln was made, compared to a £54.3m profit before tax a year ago.
Limitless Earth shed 20% as the population change-focused investment company took substantial write-downs on two of its investments. Saxa Gres, which has developed an innovative tile production process, has been hit by the surge in energy costs and was written down by 90%.
AFC Energy PLC (AIM:AFC, OTC:AFGYF) shares skyrocketed 20% after the company announced a joint venture with Speedy Hire PLC (LSE:SDY) to supply hydrogen-powered generators for construction. AFC will exclusively supply the generators to the joint venture with tool hire specialist Speedy, with the pair owning 50% each of the new business.
East Imperial PLC (LSE:EISB) shares took off as the firm announced a deal to supply cocktails to Air New Zealand (ASX:AIZ). Peaking at 1.6p – up 21% on Friday’s opening – East Imperial’s shares were lifted on news that the company’s gin-based cocktails would be served on the airline’s New York and Chicago routes from late August.
Upland Resources (LSE:UPL) traded higher after the explorer confirmed it is now in a formal process of assessing an onshore rig capable of developing its Sarawak project in Malaysia. In a stock market statement, the company said its technical team is conducting rig evaluations during a visit to a site in Australia against specific requirements and well design specifications.
Inspecs shares climbed 8% following an upbeat trading update from the sunglasses maker. The company expressed confidence in meeting market expectations over the full year, after revenue jumped 6% to £111mln and net debt fell by £5mln to £22.6mln in the six months to June.
1.00pm: Wall Street seen higher ahead of PCE figures
US blue chips are expected to push higher on Friday, recovering after a retreat in the previous session following a strong run on the back of central bank rate decisions and corporate earnings, as investors await the release of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were 0.3% higher, while those for the S&P 500 gained 0.5%, and contracts for the Nasdaq 100 added 0.9%.
On Thursday, the DJIA dropped 237 points, or about 0.7% at 35,282, ending a 13-day win streak, a run not seen since 1987. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed around 0.6% lower.
On a weekly basis, the DJIA and the Nasdaq are on track for narrow gains, up around 0.16% and 0.12% gain, respectively, as of Thursday’s close, while the S&P 500 is almost flat on the week, up only 0.02%.
Earnings reports posted after-hours on Thursday saw chipmaker Intel jump more than 7% as investors applauded a return to profitability, while streaming devices group Roku climbed 8% after beating Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines.
On the corporate earnings slate on Friday, consumer products giant Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) is expected to report before the bell.
On the economic front, investors will be eyeing the June personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, with forecasts for a core PCE gain of 0.2% from the previous month and 4.2% when compared with a year earlier.
Investors will also watch for data on employment costs, personal income, consumer spending and consumer sentiment.
Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets commented: "Traders are going to be focused on the Fed’s favourite economic data, which is the Core PCE index, which is expected to show further improvement.
Remember, the Fed Chairman said in his report that he wants to keep the door open for further measures, and all decisions are very dependent on economic data.
"In addition, we will also get to see the US Consumer sentiment data, and any improvement in these economic numbers is likely to boost confidence among traders to support the US equity market, which had a wild week due to earnings and central bank meetings."
12.43pm: AstraZeneca needs to keep scoring goals to support valuation
The FTSE 100 has eased back towards its opening levels with the top four risers all boosted by well-received earnings today – Standard Chartered, IAG, AstraZeneca and NatWest.
AstraZeneca delivered better-than-expected profits and sales in the second quarter as a strong performance of its blockbuster cancer drugs helped offset the loss of COVID-19 vaccine sales.
The FTSE 100-listed firm posted an adjusted profit of US$2.15 per share, up 25% and above the US$1.98 per share expected in company-compiled consensus estimates.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said total revenue in the quarter was US$11.4bn, up 6% and beating company-compiled analyst estimates of US$10.97bn.
Derren Nathan head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown said the firm has “more than filled” the US$2bn hole left from declining Covid-19 sales in the first half of this year, with total revenues up by 4% to US$22.3bn.
“Its robust portfolio of speciality medicines is serving it well and the biggest revenue line, cancer treatments, was also the fastest growing, up 22%.”
“As these are some of Astra’s most profitable products it’s driving gross margins up,” he pointed out which helped push core operating profit up 20% to US$8.2bn, “although a fair chunk of this came from the renegotiation of how Astra splits the proceeds of sales from Beyfortus for the treatment of lower respiratory tract disease in infants.”
Ne noted the valuation “has taken a knock of late following inconclusive late stage read outs for lung cancer candidate datopotamab deruxtecan.”
“There’s still hope that this can become a commercial success and Astra’s landed 9 other regulatory approvals since it announced first-quarter results,” he added.
“But with the rating still at a premium, Astra needs to keep scoring goals in the clinic if it’s to hold onto its position as the UK’s most valuable company,” he thinks.
12.26pm: Case for UK rate rise weak but 25 basis point increase expected
The EY ITEM Club thinks while the case for another rate rise in the UK is weak the Bank of England “may feel pressure to be seen to be doing something about still-high inflation.”
The economic forecaster said with better recent news on inflation, leading indicators of price pressures falling significantly, and the Bank of England’s new forecast likely to show inflation heading towards zero over the next few years, the case for another rate rise in August is weak.
But the Monetary Policy Committee could still be influenced by past developments, and may feel pressure to be seen to be doing something, it thinks.
As such, it appears likely that the MPC will increase rates next week although by a more ‘standard’ 25bps rather than repeating June’s 50bps rise, the thinktank predicts.
“But an August rise should mark the summit, or near-summit, of the current rate rise cycle,” reckons Martin Beck, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club.
12.00pm: Vanquis shares plunge after dip into the red
Shares in Vanquis Banking Group PLC, the former Provident Financial, continue to languish, down 32% at 124p, putting it top of the FTSE 250 fallers list, after the company announced a swing to losses in the first half.
An adjusted loss before tax of £5.5mln was made, compared to a £54.3m profit before tax a year ago.
This reduction in profitability reflected impairment charges increasing to £85.6mln, with these expected credit losses associated with the acceleration in receivables growth to 26% in the half.
11.46am: Insolvencies at highest level since 2009
More businesses in England and Wales collapsed in the second quarter of the year than in any three month period since 2009, according to the latest figures from the Insolvency Service.
The government agency said the number of company insolvencies in the three months to the end of June was 9% higher than the previous quarter and 13% higher than the same period last year.
Company insolvencies reached 6,342 in the quarter, comprising 5,240 creditors’ voluntary liquidations, 637 compulsory liquidations, 409 administrations and 56 company voluntary arrangements.
Jeremy Whiteson, restructuring and insolvency partner, at Fladgate said the data "matches our experience" noting: "There have been an increase in requests for advice in relation to troubled businesses."
He explained the rise in interest rates seems to have exacerbated troubles for many businesses - particularly those exposed to high borrowings.
"However, it has also affected the general funding environment and added to investors’ scepticism with early-stage businesses which have not yet turned profits, or in some cases, yet generated income.
"The impact of these changes has hit a business world already battered by a cost of living crisis, shortage of labour, high fuel costs, the after effects of covid and the lockdowns, and geo-political uncertainty," he pointed out.
11.01am: HMRC reports surprise rise in house sales in June
HMRC reported a 6% increase in seasonally adjusted residential transaction and a 5% increase in seasonally adjusted non-residential transactions relative to May in contrast to the downward trend in residential and non-residential property transactions in recent months.
However, in comparison to June 2022, figures were down 9% and 1% respectively.
HMRC explained part of the month-on-month increase in both seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted transactions across both sectors can be explained by the higher number of working days in June than in May due to the coronation and other bank holidays.
Nicholas Finn, executive director of Garrington Property Finders, said: "It’s too early to call if this is a fluke or a fillip for the property market, but June’s jump in home sales is a welcome surprise.
“What it certainly isn’t – yet – is a complete turnaround. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of sales completed last month was 15% lower than in a typical June, and barely a third more than the level achieved during the lockdown-affected June of 2020," he added.
“With property prices ticking down in most parts of the UK, some discretionary sellers are pausing their plans and this is holding back the number of homes being sold," Finn noted.
10.36am: High Court dismisses challenge to Ulez
The High Court has dismissed a legal challenge by five Conservative-led councils against the expansion of London’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez).
The zone, which the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said is a vital move to tackle toxic air, is due to be extended throughout the whole of Greater London at the end of August, making owners of the most polluting cars pay to drive.
The outer London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow and Hillingdon, along with Surrey county council, launched legal action in February. At the high court earlier this month, barristers argued that Khan had failed to adequately consult, overstepped his powers, and had provided a flawed £110m scrappage scheme.
Drivers of vehicles that do not meet the Ulez standards – typically petrol cars from before 2006 and diesels registered before 2015 – have to pay £12.50 a day when they enter the zone.
9.48am: BA owner, IAG's shares fly high after results
Shares in IAG, the owner of British Airways are also flying high today, up 2.5%, after results.
Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said: "British Airways owner IAG has seen first-half underlying operating profit soar, putting the losses of last year firmly in the rear-view mirror.
"Leisure demand is said to be holding up, with bookings for the summer season at healthy levels. Investors should also be celebrating the fact that capacity is almost fully restored to pre-pandemic levels, which gives the airline group the best chance of capitalising on demand.
"At the same time, there are things to monitor. First and foremost is the risk, and cost, of disruption outside the group’s controls."
She added: "It’s also important to consider that the outlook for business demand is murkier than leisure, and this corner of the market is a lot more important to IAG than it is for the likes of easyJet.
"As consumer sentiment potentially weakens towards the end of this year, it’s also possible that the likes of BA may see the rate of bookings slow."
"IAG has done an awful lot to get itself out of a downwards spin, and is now on an even keel, but unfortunately as far as mapping demand goes, it’s not out of the woods," she noted.
9.23am: "Healthy" upgrades seen after strong StanChart results
Top of the FTSE 100 risers is Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN) which shares up 6.1% after well-received results.
Analysts at Jefferies said second quarter pre-tax profits were 13% ahead of consensus driven by 4% better revenue performance - non-interest income was 11% ahead, net interest income was a 1% miss.
With improved 2023 guidance on revenue, lowers costs and a better guide on credit costs, Jefferies reckons there could be at least mid-single-digit upgrades to consensus forecasts.
The broker said the US$1bn buyback was double its US$500mln estimate.
Shore Capital's Gary Greenwood noted the better than expected earnings were "driven by beats on income and impairments."
"We expect the better-than-expected H1 performance combined with the larger than expected share buyback and updated full-year guidance to drive a healthy upgrade to our own and consensus forecasts."
Both Jefferies and ShoreCap rate Standard Chartered 'buy'.
8.52am: NatWest chair pledges to fight on despite criticism
NatWest chair Howard Davies intends to leading the bank despite strong criticism of his handling of the crisis that saw chief executive Alison Rose depart.
Davies told reporters following today's results the lender has appointed law firm Travers Smith to investigate the closure of Nigel Farage’s Coutts account.
“At yesterday’s board meeting, we agreed the terms of reference of an independent review led by Travers Smith into the handling of Mr Farage as a customer of Coutts and the way in which information about that issue has been handled within the bank,” Davies said.
“The terms of reference will be available today and the findings of those linked reviews will be released in due course,” he added.
NatWest is attempting to steady the ship after a week which saw the boss of Coutts fall on his sword as well.
Davies is due to step down in July 2024.
8.38am: NatWest steadies the ship after turbulent week
Shares in crisis-hit NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) have held firm, up 0.7%, after reporting better-than-expected results and a share buy-back although a warning on UK net interest margins was a sting in the tail.
The high street bank has had a turbulent week with shares down 4.7% in the wake of Alison Rose’s departure and disappointing updates from rivals Lloyds and Barclays.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, commented “NatWest has endured some banking turmoil of its own this week, but the legacy of the departing CEO is that of a performing group built on rock solid foundations.”
He said “the bank is in extremely good shape in virtually all of its key metrics.”
He felt the share buy-back and dividend “reflects the bank’s strength and confidence in immediate prospects but is also a compelling invitation for income-seeking investors in particular.”
Gary Greenwood at Shore Capital was less effusive describing the better profits as a “fairly low quality earnings beat, driven by better than expected impairments and below the line items, while income disappointed.”
But he pointed out the buy-back was above consensus and he retains a buy rating on the bank.
For Matt Britzman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown the focus was on net interest margins.
He said: “We know markets are laser-focused on net interest margin and at 3.13% for the second quarter that was below expectations, leading to a miss on net interest income.
“But perhaps more importantly, full-year guidance has been dragged lower reflecting the ongoing deposit shift to accounts that offer better rates as consumers do all they can to make cash savings go further.”
He felt “the downgrade to margin guidance will be disappointing for many.”
CMC’s Michael Hewson noted that “with all the distractions that are going on at the boardroom level it’s a relief to be able to focus on the fundamentals when it comes to the NatWest share price.
“All in all, today’s results have come in pretty much in line with its peers earlier this week, however, investors will be looking to ensure that recent events around the departure of CEO Alison Rose, and as well as the departure of the Coutts CEO Peter Flavel, are brought to a swift conclusion.”
“Trust and confidence in banking are a key pillar when it comes to banking relationships with client confidentiality at the core of it,” he stressed.
8.15am: FTSE 100 rises, boosted by upbeat earnings
The FTSE 100 held firm, despite expectations of a weak start, boosted by encouraging noises from some leading names today.
At 8.15am, London’s lead index was up 11.56 points, 0.2%, at 7,704.32 while the FTSE 250 fell 58.91 points, 0.3%, to 19,214.46.
Crisis-hit NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) tried to fight back with top-end profits and a share buy-back after a turbulent week which saw chief executive Alison Rose quit after a row with Nigel Farage.
Shares edged 0.7% higher after the high street lender reported half-year pre-tax profit in the six months to 30 June 2023 of £3.6bn, up from £2.6bn a year prior, and above the company compiled forecast of £3.3bn.
But Shore Capital analyst Gary Greenwood described the better profits as a “fairly low quality earnings beat, driven by better than expected impairments and below the line items, while income disappointed.”
But the £500mln was better than expected although the dividend of 5.5p was a touch below consensus.
Standard Chartered also pleased the City raising guidance and launching a US$1bn share buyback sending shares 4.7% higher.
Bill Winters, chief executive, said: “We remain strongly profitable, highly liquid, and well capitalised. These attributes enable us to return a further US$1 billion to our shareholders through a new share buy-back announced today."
"Also reflecting our confidence in the business, we are upgrading our 2023 guidance for income, jaws and RoTE which we now expect to be 10% for the full year.”
For 2023, StanChart expects income to increase between 12-14%, net interest margin of around 170bps and a return on equity of 10%.
British Airways owner, IAG, was also flying higher after its results, with shares up 2.3%.
A quarterly operating profit before exceptional items of €1.25bn was reported by the Anglo-Iberian airline for the three months to end-June, up from €295mln a year ago and some way ahead of the €895mln average analyst forecast.
AstraZeneca was another firm feature, up 3%, after its earnings beat and US$1bn acquisition from Pfizer.
7.56am: StanChart launches buy-back, ups guidance
Another bank updating investors is Asian-focused lender Standard Chartered PLC (LSE:STAN).
The bank launched a new US$1bn share buyback programme, as it reported a 20% rise in profit in the first half of 2023 and raised its guidance for the full year.
Pretax profit in the six months to June 30 was US$3.32bn, up 20% from US$2.77bn a year before. Operating income increased by 11% to US$9.13bn from US$8.23bn, and StanChart also benefitted from a reduced credit impairment of US$161mln, down from US$263mln a year before.
Bill Winters, StanChart chief executive, said: “We remain strongly profitable, highly liquid, and well capitalized. These attributes enable us to return a further US$1 billion to our shareholders through a new share buy-back announced today.
"Also reflecting our confidence in the business, we are upgrading our 2023 guidance for income, jaws and RoTE which we now expect to be 10% for the full year.”
For 2023, StanChart expects income to increase between 12-14%, net interest margin of around 170bps and a return on equity of 10%.
7.50am: British Airways owner, IAG's, profit soars
Another big name reporting today is British Airways owner IAG which posted much stronger profits for the second quarter than expected as holidaymakers flooded back to the skies.
A quarterly operating profit before exceptional items of €1.25bn was reported by the Anglo-Iberian airline for the three months to end-June, up from €295mln a year ago and some way ahead of the €895mln average analyst forecast.
This meant the FTSE 100-listed group was able to report a record first-half underlying operating profit of €1.26bn, a big turnaround from the loss of €446mln this time last year.
7.44am: AstraZeneca results top forecasts, US$1bn swoop
AstraZeneca is in the news reporting half-year results and a US$1bn deal to buy Pfizer's early-stage gene therapy portfolio.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker delivered better-than-expected profits and sales in the second quarter as a strong performance of its blockbuster cancer drugs helped offset the loss of COVID-19 vaccine sales.
The FTSE 100-listed firm posted an adjusted profit of US$2.15 per share, up 25% and above the US$1.98 per share expected in company-compiled consensus estimates.
Total revenue in the quarter was US$11.4bn, up 6% and beating company-compiled analyst estimates of US$10.97bn.
The firm held guidance for 2023 total revenue and core EPS.
Alongside the figures, AstraZeneca PLC's rare disease unit, Alexion, has unveiled a $1 billion agreement to acquire Pfizer's early-stage gene therapy portfolio, a strategic move designed to bolster its footprint in the burgeoning field of genomic medicine.
The deal, which is expected to be concluded in the third quarter, will bring Alexion a number of preclinical programmes and technologies, alongside a set of adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids vital for gene therapy and editing.
7.30am: Natwest looks to win shareholders back with buy-back and bumper profits
NatWest Group PLC (LSE:NWG) looked to regain the faith of shareholders after a turbulent week with strong profits, a share buy-back and solid dividend although it did caution UK net margins would be lower than previously forecast.
The high street lender, which has been plunged into crisis following the departure of boss Alison Rose, reported pre-tax profit in the six months to June 30 of £3.6bn, up from £2.6bn a year prior, and above the company compiled forecast of £3.3bn.
Rising interest rates helped boost net interest income to £5.73bn from £4.33bn with net interest margin (NIM) of 3.2% in the first-half compared to 2.58% a year ago although it fell to 3.13% in the second quarter.
For the full-year, the bank lowered its NIM forecast to around 3.15% from 3.20 before although all other guidance was retained.
Similar to rivals Lloyds and Barclays, NatWest saw a jump in impairment charges to £223mln from a release of £54mln before.
Shareholders were rewarded with a 5.5p dividend while the bank launched a £500mln buy-back programme planned for the second half of the year.
7.00am: FTSE 100 set to open lower as Dow snaps 13-day winning run
The FTSE 100 is set to open Friday on the back foot after US markets fell back.
Spread betting companies are calling London's lead index down around 21 points after rising 15.87 points to 7,692.76 on Thursday.
“As far as today’s price action is concerned, the late decline in the US looks set to translate into a weaker European open, even though confidence is growing that the Fed is more or less done when it comes to its rate hiking cycle,” Michael Hewson at CMC Markets said.
While the earnings volume dials down a notch after a frantic Thursday the analyst meeting at NatWest today could be fairly lively in the wake of Alison Rose’s departure.
Other big names reporting include AstraZeneca, IMI, Standard Chartered and British Airways owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (LSE:IAG).
In the US, the Dow snapped a 13-day winning streak. A 14th straight day of gains would have been its longest winning streak since 1897 - a year after the Dow was created.
The Dow Jones fell 0.7% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped 0.6%.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 was 1.5% lower after the Bank of Japan has tweaked a longstanding pillar of its ultra-loose monetary policy, sending bond yields higher and causing the yen to fluctuate.
The central bank said it would continue to cap the yield on 10-year government bonds at 0.5% but would allow long-term interest rates to rise above that level by an unspecified certain amount.