FTSE 100 made a poor start ahead of the government’s latest update on Covid restrictions. Worries over cases rising in China were said to be the cause and the blue-chip index shed 29 early on to 7,041.
Job vacancies are at record levels according to the latest numbers from the ONS. Vacancies topped one million for first time in the three months to August.
JD Sports shares surged higher as it said full-year profits will rocket after posting bumper interims. The athleisure retailer reckons it will make £750mln this year against £421mln last year and £438mln before that.
The UK Government’s Future Fund invested in the company behind the Oxford vaccine it was revealed today. Now US-listed, Vaccitech was one of 158 firms backed by the fund set up at the start of the Covid crisis. Others include a cinema chain, a knitting specialist and car parking app developer.
Among the small caps, clinical communications specialist Feedback signed a collaboration agreement for its Bleepa medical diagnostic app with Qure.ai. The pair will join forces in providing clinicians with patient data.
In the mining world, Panthera Resources PLC (LSE:PAT) (LSE:PAT) hit high grade gold at the Labola project in Burkina Faso. The group will soon release official resource estimates.
Crypto miner Argo Blockchain is launching on Nasdaq. It is planning to sell 7.5mln depositary shares, which at the current market price would raise around £100mln.