Segro declines to raise Tritax EuroBox offer, AstraZeneca posts solid third quarter

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 32 points lower on Thursday, having closed up 0.65% on Monday at 8,125.19.

Stocks to watch

The battle for warehouse owner Tritax EuroBox looks over after Segro said it would not up its offer, leaving Canadian investment firm Brookfield as the winner subject to shareholder approval. Segro also said it would buy a portfolio of six Tritax EuroBox assets from Brookfield following completion of the Brookfield Offer for €470m.

AstraZeneca reported a strong financial performance for the first nine months of the year on Tuesday, with a 19% increase in revenue driven by solid growth in oncology, CVRM, respiratory, and rare diseases, leading to an upgraded full-year guidance. The FTSE 100 pharma giant said it had also submitted a new biologics licence application for datopotamab deruxtecan in EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer, informed by phase two and three trial data, while withdrawing a prior BLA for a broader indication. Additionally, AstraZeneca announced positive phase three trial results for Koselugo in adults with neurofibromatosis type 1, as well as a $3.5bn investment to expand its research and development and manufacturing footprint in the United States.

Newspaper round-up

Social media platform Bluesky has picked up more than 700,000 new users in the week since the US election, as users seek to escape misinformation and offensive posts on X. The influx, largely from North America and the UK, has helped Bluesky reach 14.5 million users worldwide, up from 9 million in September, the company said. – Guardian

The owners of British Steel are to keep the blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe site running past Christmas amid talks over government support for a switch to less polluting technology. The government is thought to be considering aid for British Steel at the same level or even higher than the £500m pledged to Tata Steel, which closed its two blast furnaces in Port Talbot in September. However, no decisions on the shape of a package have been made. – Guardian

Rachel Reeves’s tax raid risks turning high streets into “ghost towns” for much of the week, as pubs, restaurants and shops prepare to shut earlier and open on fewer days. Retail and hospitality chiefs said they were actively looking at reducing opening hours in response to Ms Reeves’s decision to raise employers’ National Insurance contributions. It raises fears that the Budget will worsen problems for Britain’s high streets and leave town centres largely shuttered outside the busiest shopping days of the week. – Telegraph

Herbert Smith Freehills is planning to merge with its US rival Kramer Levin to create one of the 20 largest law firms in the world. The combined operation will have more than $2 billion of annual revenue and 2,700 lawyers, including 640 partners across 25 offices. The merger is designed to accelerate growth in the US across sectors including energy, infrastructure, mining and technology. – The Times

The Financial Reporting Council is looking to remove the mention of “the environment and society” from its definition of good stewardship for institutional investors. Currently, the accounting watchdog describes stewardship as “the responsible allocation, management and oversight of capital to create long-term value for clients and beneficiaries leading to sustainable benefits for the economy, the environment and society”. – The Times

US close

US stocks rose for the fifth straight session on Monday, with all three Wall Street benchmarks hitting new closing highs, as the post-election rally continued.

The Dow finished up 0.7% at a new high of 44,293.13 and the S&P 500 gained 0.1% to settle at a new peak of 6,001.35, while the Nasdaq – which had been in the red for most of the day – managed to inch 0.1% higher to 19,298.76.

While markets are open as normal, Monday was the Veterans Day national holiday, which is thought to have resulted in lower volumes.

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all hit new records on Friday in the aftermath of last Tuesday's presidential election, in which Donald Trump comfortably beat Kamala Harris to be America's new pro-business president elect, while another rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Thursday also boosted investor sentiment.

Since election day, the Dow is now up 5.98%, the S&P 500 is up 5.05% and the Nasdaq is up 6.15%.