Finance chief post up for grabs at Wolseley
London open
The Footsie is seen starting the day 3 points higher form Thursday´s closing mark of 6,265.65.
Stocks to watch
Wolseley said on Friday that Simon Nicholls will not take up his role as chief financial officer later this year, as announced back in January, without giving any reasons. The FTSE 100 building materials group said David Keltner, current CFO of US subsidiary Ferguson Enterprises, will be appointed interim group CFO on 1 September and the selection process to appoint a permanent CFO will commence immediately. The company confirmed Ian Meakins will retire on 31 August 2016, while John Martin will succeed him as CEO on the 1 September as expected.
Phamaceuticals giant AstraZeneca announced positive results for its Faslodex drug for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer in post-menopausal women who have not had prior hormonal treatment for home-receptor-positive breast cancer. The company said on Friday that Faslodex met its primary endpoint of extended progression-free survival.
In addition, AZN said the US Food & Drug Administration has issued a complete response letter on the new drug application made for sodium zirconium cyclosilicate, the investigational medicine being developed for the treatment of hyperkalaemia (high potassium level in the blood serum) by wholly-owned subsidiary ZS Pharma.
In the press
G7 leaders warned on Friday that a British vote to leave the EU next month would seriously threaten the world economy, as they promised “more forceful” policies to boost global growth but papered over differences about fiscal stimulus. “There are potential shocks of a non-economic origin,” the leaders said in a declaration issued during their summit in Ise-Shima, central Japan. “A UK exit from the EU would reverse the trend towards greater global trade and investment, and the jobs they create, and is a further serious risk to growth.” – Financial Times
The workers’ committee at EDF on Thursday dealt a new blow to the controversial £18bn project to build a new nuclear power plant in Somerset, saying it is likely to vote against the plan. The French utility has been on the verge of giving the final approval to the Hinkley Point project for the past few months, but has delayed doing so on several occasions after a string of last-minute objections. – Financial Times
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley has threatened to pull out of an appearance before MPs next month after they declined to visit the retailer's main warehouse. Mr Ashley said he is seeking legal advice over his scheduled appearance at a parliamentary select committee after his offer to show the politicians working conditions at the Derbyshire site was turned down. – Daily Telegraph
US close
US stocks failed to make any headway on Thursday as oil prices reversed early gains to settle lower and investors digested some encouraging economic news that could be seen as underpinning the case for a rate hike.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.1%, the Nasdaq closed up 0.1% and the S&P 500 finished flat.
Investors may also have been exercising some caution ahead of a speech on the economy by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Friday, which she is due to deliver during a visit to Harvard at 1530 BST.
“With a long weekend looming for both the US and UK, and comments from Janet Yellen before this, it is hardly surprising to see stock markets shift into pause mode,” said IG’s Chris Beauchamp.