GSK applies to expand RSV jab in Japan, Big Yellow wins planning appeal

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 15 points higher on Tuesday, having closed down 0.13% on Monday at 7,544.89.

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GSK has submitted a regulatory application to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) to expand the use of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for adults aged 50-59 at an elevated risk of the disease, it announced on Tuesday. It followed Japan's prior approval of the vaccine for adults over 60, and was based on positive results from a phase three trial evaluating the vaccine's safety and immune response in the 50-59 age group, especially those with underlying medical conditions. GSK said it aimed to be the first company to extend RSV vaccination to the younger age group, with updates on regulatory progress in the US and EU expected in early 2024.

Self-storage warehouse operator Big Yellow said it had obtained planning consent at appeal for a 58,000 sq ft storage centre on its site in Epsom, London. The company on Tuesday said it expected the new store to deliver an 8.5% net operating income return at stabilisation on the total capital deployed of £20m. "As we have previously identified, conditions in the construction market have ameliorated significantly and we are therefore motivated to build out these stores which will generate high cash returns on the incremental construction spend; in this case 13%," said chief executive Jim Gibson.

Newspaper round-up

Bank of England concerns over the high level of pay awards are likely to be eased in the coming months as wage settlements fall in response to a tumbling annual inflation rate, a think tank has said. The Resolution Foundation said recent strong growth in earnings was primarily caused by a sharp increase in the cost of living, with workers trying to prevent their living standards being eroded. – Guardian

Epic Games, maker of Fortnite, has prevailed in an antitrust trial over Alphabet’s Google Play app marketplace, Epic’s chief executive said on Monday, hours after the federal jury took up the case. “Victory over Google! After 4 weeks of detailed court testimony, the California jury found against the Google Play monopoly on all counts. The Court’s work on remedies will start in January,” Tim Sweeney wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. – Guardian

The world is edging towards a “new Cold War” that risks “annihilating” free trade as we know it, the deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. Gita Gopinath said “growing fault lines” in the global economy, such as tensions between the US and China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, had created permanent shifts in the way countries do business. – Telegraph

With a population of around 3,000, Fordham, Cambridgeshire, is not known to be a hotbed of organised crime. But for Jonathan James, who opened a new Fresh & Proper shop in the village with his son Joshua in June, it has become the site of an ongoing battle with shoplifting gangs. – Telegraph

The UK competition regulator is stifling innovation and entrepreneurship by taking too long to make decisions, according to a senior Adobe executive who is overseeing its $20 billion takeover of Figma. In an interview with The Times, David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s Digital Media business, said: “The process should not take 15 months to get to the stage. I think we can all agree that expediting these kinds of decisions is important for innovation and for doing the right thing by consumers and customers to make these decisions faster and move more quickly.” – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed higher on Monday as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the year.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.43% at 36,404.93, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.39% to 4,622.44 and the Nasdaq 100 saw out the session 0.20% firmer at 14,432.49.

The Dow closed 157.06 points higher on Monday, extending gains recorded in the previous session on the back of news that the US economy had added more jobs than expected in November.

No major data points were released on Monday, with traders instead patiently awaiting the outcome of the central bank's last policy meeting of 2023 on Wednesday, as well as key inflation data in the form of November's consumer and producer price indices, due out on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

The Federal Reserve was widely expected to maintain its fed funds rate in the 5.25-5.5% range, with chairman Jerome Powell also expected to reiterate his commitment to lowering inflation.