Ferrexpo sees H1 EBITDA 'materially' higher; Glaxo gets FDA approval for asthma treatment

London open

The FTSE 100 was called to open 20 points higher at 7,279.

Stocks to watch

Iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo said group first half EBITDA was expected to increase “materially”, due to higher prices and sales.

It added that while average production costs were likely to rise year on year, inflation had been lower than expected due to a fall in the Brent oil price and the European gas price partially offset by an appreciation of the Ukrainian hryvnia against the dollar.

GlaxoSmithKline has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for two new methods for administering Nucala, a drug initially developed for maintenance treatment for patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA).

The new approvals are for the treatment's use with an autoinjector and a pre-filled safety syringe, which will give patients the option for Nucala to be administered outside of a clinical setting.

Games Workshop said sales and profit growth extended to the end of its financial year as it reiterated guidance for annual results. Sales for the year to 2 June will be about £254m and pre-tax profit will be at least £80m, it said.

Smiths Group has appointed JehanZeb Noor as chief executive officer of Smiths Medical.

JehanZeb, who will be part of the company's Executive Committee and report to CEO Andy Reynolds Smith, will take up the role on 1 July. He will oversee the separation of the division, which is expected to be completed during the first half of CY2020.

Newspaper round-up

China’s Huawei Technologies needs to raise its “shoddy” security standards which fall below rivals, a senior British cyber security official said on Thursday, as the company came under increasing pressure internationally. The US has led allegations that Huawei’s equipment can be used by Beijing for espionage operations, with Washington urging allies to bar the companyfrom 5G networks. – Guardian

The government official in charge of delivering “frictionless” Brexit border arrangements, including emergency plans for Dover and Ireland in the event of no deal, has quit just two years into her job. Karen Wheeler, director general of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs Brexitborder delivery group, was the lead official coordinating a cross-Whitehall response involving police, ports, customs and freight interests. - Guardian

Matt Hancock has vowed to "level the playing field" for high streets by scrapping business rates for small retailers while hitting tech giants with the new Amazon tax. The Health Secretary has announced the £1.5 billion-a-year pledge, which would exempt hundreds of thousands of businesses from the levy, as part of his leadership campaign. – Telegraph

Ford will move its petrol engine production out of Britain to the low-cost economy of Mexico and close its factory in Bridgend, meaning that all 1,700 workers in south Wales will be laid off within 18 months. The American carmaker also conceded yesterday that a no-deal Brexit could yet put another 6,000 British production and development jobs at risk in Essex, east London and Merseyside. – The Times

US close

US stocks closed higher on Thursday, drawing a close to a tumultuous session on the Street and extending their rally to a third straight day.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.71% at 25,720.66, while the S&P 500 closed 0.61% higher at 2,843.49 and the Nasdaq saw out the session 0.53% firmer to 7,615.55.