GSK given approval to sell Omjjara, Tritax Big Box reports resilient year
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open seven points lower on Monday, having closed up 1.4% on Friday at 7,635.09.
Stocks to watch
Biopharma giant GSK has been given the green light by European regulators to sell Omjjara, its treatment for patients with a rare type of blood cancer. GSK announced on Monday that Omjjara, its brand name for momelotinib, has been granted marketing authorisation by the European Commission, giving the company permission to market the drug and make it available to patients and healthcare professionals across the EU and EEA-EFTA states of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. In a separate statement, GSK also said that the European Medicines Agency has accepted its Arexvy drug, developed for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease, for regulatory review.
Tritax Big Box reported a resilient occupational market in an update on Monday, as well as stabilised investment yields. The FTSE 250 real estate investment trust said it achieved 22.1 million square feet of UK lettings in 2023, with an additional 11.1 million square feet under offer, maintaining pre-Covid levels. It also added £7.8m of annual contracted rent through development lettings, actively managed its portfolio for optimal performance, and strengthened its balance sheet with significant liquidity and no near-term debt maturities.
Iron ore pellet producer Ferrexpo said a Ukraine's court of appeal has confirmed a claim against it for around $125m as part of the long-running court case against its largest shareholder. The company on Monday said it would file an appeal to the Ukraine's Supreme Court in Ukraine. London-listed Ferrexpo, is facing several court cases or investigations by Ukrainian authorities trying to recover assets from founder and 49.5% shareholder Kostyantin Zhevago.
Newspaper round-up
Train drivers will keep striking to “raise the profile” of their dispute after half a decade without a pay rise, the Aslef union has warned, before another week of rolling strikes across England. Aslef’s general secretary, Mick Whelan, has said he believes that the government will make renewed efforts to see train companies use controversial new anti-strike laws, despite the union forcing a climbdown this time round. – Guardian
Millions of households will still be living in fuel poverty by the end of the decade, and could be forced to pay almost £500 a year extra on their bills because of the government’s slow progress on meeting its home energy efficiency targets, according to a study. A fuel poverty charity has found that 3m households in England are expected to remain in fuel poverty by 2030 because the government is expected to miss a legally binding target on upgrading the energy efficiency of homes “by a staggering margin”. – Guardian
A Hong Kong court on Monday issued the liquidation of battered Chinese property giant Evergrande after lawyers failed to convince a judge it had a working restructuring plan. Once China’s biggest developer, Evergrande has reported more than $300 billion in liabilities and its troubles have become a symbol of a years-long property crisis that has dealt a massive blow to the country’s economy. A creditor in 2022 filed a winding-up petition in Hong Kong against China Evergrande Group - which would begin the process of liquidation - but the case has dragged on while parties tried to broker a deal. - Telegraph
The share of listed UK companies warning investors that profits will miss expectations has surpassed a peak reached during the 2008 financial crisis, research shows. Some 18.2 percent of listed companies issued a profit warning last year, above the 17.7 percent peak of 2008, as higher interest rates and fragile demand weighed on corporate balance sheets, according to EY-Parthenon, the consultancy service. – The Times
The businessman seeking to turn around Britishvolt, the collapsed battery start-up, has been arrested and charged in the United States over allegations of assault and harassment. David Collard, 39, founder of Recharge Industries and a former partner at PwC, is facing charges after an alleged incident on Madison Avenue in New York at about 1.30am on November 15. – The Times
US close
Stocks finished in a mixed state on Wall Street on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.16% at 38,109.43.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.07% to 4,890.97, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.36% to end the day at 15,455.36.