AstraZeneca's Imfinzi shows promising results, Shell lifts short-term production forecasts

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 89 points lower on Friday, having closed up 0.48% on Thursday at 7,975.89.

Stocks to watch

AstraZeneca said on Friday that Imfinzi, or durvalumab, had shown promising results in a phase three trial for patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer, demonstrating significant improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival compared to placebo after concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Despite the aggressive nature of the cancer, it said Imfinzi's safety profile remained consistent with previous data, with no new safety concerns identified. The findings would be presented at an upcoming medical meeting, with discussions with regulatory authorities planned, while the trial's secondary arm testing Imjudo, or tremelimumab, in combination with Imfinzi was ongoing.

Oil and gas titan Shell has raised its short-term production forecasts and said it expects an increase in margins as it updated its guidance for the first quarter on Friday. Integrated gas production is now tipped to come it at 960-1,000 thousand barrels of oil equivalents per day (kboe/d), up from February's guidance of 930-990 kboe/d, while the upstream production guidance range has been narrowed to 1,820-1,920 kboe/d from 1,730-1,930 kboe/d previously. Increased forecasts for utilisation – the actual usage of refineries and chemical plants as a percentage of the rated capacity – also mean that indicative refining margins are expected to be $12 a barrel in the first quarter, up from $10 in the fourth, while indicative chemicals margins should grow to $151/tonne from $125/tonne.

Newspaper round-up

The number of households seeking help to deal with court action over their unpaid energy bills has doubled in the last year, according to Citizens Advice. The charity said suppliers were increasingly opting to take their customers to court to recover their energy debts, which could ruin household finances for years. It said the use of legal action to pursue unpaid bills appeared to have increased since the industry regulator, Ofgem, introduced strict restrictions on the forced installation of prepayment meters. – Guardian

Small businesses such as care homes, and enterprises including charities and faith groups, will be granted new protections to guard against rogue energy brokers using rip-off deals to secure hidden commission fees. The measures mark the first big step by the government and the industry regulator to bring unregulated energy brokers to heel after a growing outcry over aggressive sales tactics and undisclosed commissions, which have inflated costs for small businesses. – Guardian

Men who work entirely from home are more likely to get overlooked for promotions and pay rises than women who do the same, academics have found. A survey of 937 UK managers by the University of Warsaw found that bosses were 15pc less likely to promote men who worked from home full-time compared with their peers who were entirely office-based, and 10pc less likely to increase pay. They are much more likely than their female colleagues to be overlooked, with bosses saying they were 7pc less likely to promote home-working women than those in the office and 8pc less likely to give pay rises. – Telegraph

The global music industry is fighting back against the use of artists’ work by technology companies to power artificial intelligence. Companies, including Sony and Universal, have launched a website that will both allow labels to protect their copyright and also warn technology businesses that are trawling their content not to use or distribute their work illegally. – The Times

A former senior executive at Accenture is suing the consulting giant and several of his former colleagues, including the firm’s chief executive, for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination in a claim valued by experts at up to £100 million. Peter Lacy, 45, had been with Accenture for 15 years and worked as its chief responsibility officer and global sustainability services lead when his lawyers claim he was “abruptly” dismissed from the £4.3 million-a-year role in March last year. – The Times

US close

US stocks fell sharply on Thursday with the Dow falling for the fourth straight day after a late-afternoon slump on the back of hawkish comments from members of the Federal Reserve.

The all-important non-farm payrolls number for March is due out on Friday and was dominating newsflow during the trading session, in light of recent upside surprises to economic data.

Investors are concerned that any pick-up in economic activity could lead to price pressures reigniting and delay a potential interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Market forecasts are still pointing to a June rate cut, but resilient data this week has cast that prediction into doubt.

The Dow and Nasdaq both dropped 1.4% while the S&P 500 fell 1.2%. This 3.04% slump on the Dow over the past four sessions was the worst four-day losing streak since October last year.