AstraZeneca's Enhertu indication gets US approval, Caledonia Investments posts solid growth
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open nine points higher on Monday, having closed down 0.81% on Friday at 7,911.16.
Stocks to watch
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's Enhertu cancer drug has been approved in the US for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic solid tumours who have received prior systemic treatment and have no satisfactory alternative options. The decision was based on successful phase two trials which showed “clinically meaningful responses across a broad range of tumours”, the two companies said on Monday.
FTSE 250-listed investment firm Caledonia Investments saw a solid increase in net asset value in the year ended 31 March, with all three investment pools contributing to growth. The company reported a net asset value of £3.0bn for the year, up from £2.8bn previously, representing a NAV total return of 7.4%. Public company and private capital investments returned 12% and 12.3% during the year, respectively, while the funds portfolio returned just 2.2% as falling values of Asian holdings held back growth.
Rio Tinto announced the appointment of Bold Baatar as its chief commercial officer to oversee its global commercial and business development on Monday, succeeding Alf Barrios, who was retiring. The FTSE 100 miner said Baatar, currently chief executive of copper, would assume the new role on 1 September, relocating to Singapore. Barrios would continue until August, transitioning to the role of chair for China, Japan, and Korea until his retirement at the end of 2024, while Baatar would manage sales, marketing, procurement, and business development, and maintain leadership on the Simandou project in Guinea.
Newspaper round-up
US airline regulators have launched an investigation after an engine cowling on a Boeing plane fell off during takeoff and struck the wing flap. The Southwest Airlines flight 3695 rose to about 10,300ft (3,140 metres) before returning safely 25 minutes after takeoff to Denver international airport at about 8.15am local time on Sunday. It was towed to the gate after landing. The Boeing aircraft with 135 passengers and six crew members aboard had been headed to Houston. No one was injured. – Guardian
Rent rises in Britain are forecast to outpace wage growth, despite having already surged at the fastest pace on record after the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis. The Resolution Foundation expects added pressure on millions of households and said average rents could increase by 13% over the next three years as current high growth in the private rental market work their way through existing tenancies. – Guardian
E-scooter start-up Lime is plotting a £25m expansion in London after the company was banned from Paris last year. Investment in the UK capital will allow the US scooter and e-bike hire company to branch out into three more boroughs and open a new warehouse in North London. It comes after e-scooters were cleared from the French capital’s streets last year following a referendum. – Telegraph
Britain’s biggest long-term savings and retirement business is drawing up plans to launch a new superfund to back fast-growing companies in a boost for Jeremy Hunt. Phoenix, which owns insurer Standard Life, is in the early stages of creating a multibillion-pound investment vehicle that insiders say will help turbocharge investment in high-growth sectors and lift pension returns. – Telegraph
Santander UK, Britain’s fifth-biggest high street bank, is cancelling its membership of a key lending standards body because of the duplication of regulatory standards to which the industry is required to adhere. Sky News has learnt that the Spanish-owned bank served notice last week of its intention to quit the Lending Standards Board, citing the establishment of the City watchdog's Consumer Duty and the imminent implementation of new fraud reimbursement rules overseen by the Payment Systems Regulator. – Sky News
US close
Stocks on Wall Street closed in the green on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.8% to 38,904.04.
The S&P 500 added 1.11% to 5,204.34, and the Nasdaq Composite closed ahead 1.24% at 16,248.52.