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Market report: FTSE fragile Friday despite UK shoppers continuing to splurge on DIY

Published: 11:16 18 Sep 2020 BST

Good morning, it’s a fragile Friday for the FTSE despite signs of some retail therapy as British retail sales continued to increase for the fourth consecutive month, boosted by spending on household goods and DIY, according to the ONS. 

J Sainsbury PLC (LON:SBRY) is up after a billionaire investor became its fourth-largest shareholder. Czech Daniel Kretinsky, the president of football club AC Sparta Prague now has a share of 3.05% stake in the grocer worth £130mln.

The London Stock Exchange (LON:LSE) has announced its entered exclusive talks with Paris-based Euronext about selling Milan’s stock exchange - Borsa Italiana.

The value of the Queen’s land and property has been written down by more than £500m. The Crown Estate which includes Regent Street and St James has dropped in value following a steep fall in rent shops.

Braveheart Investment Group (LON:BRH) has revealed Pharm2Farm (P2F) has ordered an automated face mask production line that should be commissioned by the end of 2020 which will be able to produce five million face masks per month.

Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd (LON:FARN) has said a scientist leading a trial of its early-stage immuno-oncology drug will provide more context on the treatment's “promising” anti-tumour activity at a leading industry conference.

And finally Emmerson PLC's (LON:EML) new chief executive Graham Clarke has told investors their Khemisset project is "shovel ready".

FTSE starts flat, Unilever jumps on ice cream overhaul - Market Report

The FTSE 100 has opened flat, with the largest gain coming from multinational consumer goods heavyweight Unilever. The company lifted more than 5% in early trading after launching plans to sack 7,500 workers as part of an overhaul of its ice cream business. Over in the pharmaceutical...

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