Frasers Group ups Boohoo stake, GSK gets positive CHMP opinion for Jemperli

London open

The FTSE 100 was called to open 26 points higher at 7,625.

Stocks to watch

Pharma giant GSK has announced that European experts recommended the approval of its Jerperli drug for the treatment of a specific type of endometrial cancer - paving the way for marketing authorisation by the continent's regulatory body. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a "positive opinion recommending approval" of Jerperli, otherwise known as dostarlimab, which when used alongside chemotherapy can used for patients with mismatch repair deficient/microsatellite instability-high primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer and who are candidates for systemic therapy.

Mike Ashely’s Frasers Group upped its stake in fast fashion retailer Boohoo to 15.1% from 13.4%. Last week, the company - which owns Sports Direct, House of Fraser and Flannels, among others - increased the stake from 9.1%.

Newspaper round-up

Headline inflation eased again in September, official figures are expected to show this week, while pay growth is slowing. Economists polled by Refinitiv expect the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to say annual inflation fell slightly to 6.5% in September from 6.7% in August. However, that is still well above the Bank of England’s 2% target. – Guardian

Hundreds of thousands of struggling households in Great Britain risk missing out on government help to pay their energy bills this winter if they fail to make an application for financial support that opens on Monday, according to fuel poverty activists. About 800,000 bill payers missed out on an energy bill rebate of £150 last winter through the government’s warm home discount after complex changes were made to the scheme, said National Energy Action. – Guardian

Landlords are paying an extra £5.5bn a year to their banks following a surge in mortgage rates, data shows. Buy-to-let investors are now collectively paying £15bn a year in mortgage interest, a 58pc jump since November 2021 when the Bank of England began raising interest rates, analysis by Hamptons shows. – Telegraph

A former owner of Safe Hands Plans is being sued by the company’s administrators for allegedly selling the pre-paid funerals business in a deal involving customer funds. Dave Milson sold Safe Hands to Richard Wells, a motor racing enthusiast, in February 2020 through an “inherently dishonest” scheme, according to a multimillion pound High Court claim filed last month by FRP Advisory, the administrator The deal involved the “misapplication of trust moneys for the improper purpose of financing the acquisition”, it is alleged. Milson, 66, has yet to file a defence and neither he nor Wells, 37, responded to requests for comment. – The Times

A top ten shareholder in Hipgnosis Songs Fund has castigated the board and said investors should vote against the “continuation” of the music rights company to give them more power over restructuring the business. Tom Treanor, the executive director of Asset Value Investors, said shareholders were furious with the Hipgnosis board for striking a heavily discounted $440 million deal to sell almost a fifth of its portfolio. – The Times

US close

Wall Street markets finished the week with a mixed performance on Friday, fuelled by the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the conflict between Israel and Hamas, partially offset by robust quarterly results from three of the nation's largest lenders.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had a modest gain of 0.12% to settle at 33,670.29, while the S&P 500 declined 0.5% to 4,327.78.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite faced a more substantial setback, finishing down 1.23% at 13,407.23.