ARM agrees to takeover by Softbank, British Land sells Debenhams Oxford Street

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 29.7 points higher on Monday, after closing up 0.22% at 6,669.24 on Friday.

Stocks to watch

British Land said it was too early to properly assess the impact of the referendum result on its markets but it did expect some occupiers and investors to take a more cautious approach. “British Land has entered this period of post-referendum uncertainty in a robust position,” it said in a trading update. "We had a good quarter of activity in the lead up to the referendum. In the short period since, we are pleased to have exchanged on the sale of Debenhams, Oxford Street and completed further lettings across the office and retail portfolios.” The Debenhams flagship store was sold for £400m. British Land also exchanged 17 long term retail leases totalling 58,000 sq ft on terms agreed prior to the referendum at 9.5% ahead of ERV.

AstraZeneca announced on Monday that the Phase III AURA3 trial has met its primary endpoint, demonstrating superior progression-free survival (PFS) compared to standard platinum-based doublet chemotherapy. The FTSE 100 pharmaceutical giant said the AURA3 randomised trial assessed the efficacy and safety of Tagrisso as a second-line treatment in more than 400 patients with EGFR T790M mutation-positive, locally-advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, whose disease had progressed following first-line EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy. Tagrisso also demonstrated a safety profile consistent with previous trials, the company reported.

ARM Holdings' directors have agreed a £23.4bn takeover offer by Japan's Softbank, in what could be the first major move sparked by the post-Brexit collapse in the value of the pound. The board of the Cambridge-based chip designer, which is a major supplier of components for smartphones made by the likes of Apple and Samsung, said it unanimously recommended the 1,700p-per-share cash offer, which is a 43% premium to the 1,188.73p price at which trading closed on Friday.

Newspaper round-up

The swift installation of Theresa May as prime minister and the expected boost to exports from a weaker pound will stop Britain from falling into recession after the EU referendum result, an influential economic forecaster has said. The EY ITEM Club, which uses the same model as the Treasury, said that Britain would “skirt” a recession, defined by a fall in gross domestic product in two successive quarters - The Times

The International Monetary fund will slash its forecasts for UK growth this week as the impact of the Brexit vote triggers a wave of downgrades across Europe. Christine Lagarde, the IMF’s managing director, warned that the Fund was also likely to cut its projections for world growth for the third time this year as global risks mount - Telegraph

Investors in UK companies are heading for a dividend windfall as the collapse in sterling following the Brexit vote boosts payouts in dollars and euros. Exchange rate gains will lift payouts by £4.3bn this year, offsetting a slew of dividend cuts earlier in 2016, according to the Capita UK Dividend Monitor - Financial Times

US close

Wall Street finished on a mixed note, amid lighter than usual trading volumes, on Friday as investors digested stronger than expected economic data and mixed quarterly earnings figures from several of the nation’s largest lenders.

The Dow Jones Industrials tacked on 0.05% or 10.14 points to reach a fourth consecutive record high while the Nasdaq Composite drifted 0.09% or 4.47 points lower to end at 5,029.59.

In parallel, the S&P 500 finished down by 0.09% or 2.01 points at 2,161.74, but was nevertheless higher for a third straight week.

Some observers were wary of the current valuations on the S&P 500, which at 20 times reported earnings are at their richest since 2009.