Net inflows fall at St. James's Place, PureTech gets CE-mark for 'EndeavorRx'
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 27 points higher on Tuesday, having closed down 0.76% at 6,244.62 on Monday.
Stocks to watch
Net inflows at wealth manager St James’s Place fell to £0.67bn in May amid market volatility caused by the coronavirus. The figure compared with £0.73bn a year earlier. Funds under management benefited from positive net inflows and the continuing recovery of world stock markets to end the month at £112.6bn, the company said on Tuesday.
PureTech Health announced on Tuesday that its ‘founded entity’ subsidiary Akili has received a CE-mark for ‘EndeavorRx’, or AKL-T01, as a prescription-only digital therapeutic software for the treatment of attention and inhibitory control deficits in paediatric patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The FTSE 250 company said that, while EndeavorRx was not yet available in Europe, the CE-mark would enable Akili to market EndeavorRx in European Economic Area (EEA) member countries. It said ADHD is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood, with almost 5% of children in Europe diagnosed with the disorder.
Newspaper round-up
The White House’s stance on China was thrown into confusion on Monday night after trade adviser Peter Navarro announced a trade deal between the two countries was “over”, only to be quickly contradicted by Donald Trump. Navarro told Fox News the “turning point” came when the US learned about the coronavirus only after a Chinese delegation had left Washington following the signing of the phase one deal on 15 January. – Guardian
Europe could face a shortage of oil within the next decade, making the move to increase the use of low carbon energy even more urgent, according to a new report. The study has warned that oil production may fall faster than the EU’s reliance on fossil fuels, raising the risk of a looming oil supply crisis and severe market price shock. – Guardian
Plans to require pubs to register visitors before they are allowed in would harm people’s liberties and pile further pressure on the sector, the boss of Marston’s has warned. Ralph Findlay, chief executive of the 1,400 site pub chain, said the measures would be “impractical”, adding the notion that customers would willingly give the correct information to pubs was “bonkers”. – Telegraph
Japan has given the UK government six weeks to agree to a post-Brexit trade deal, which will put Boris Johnson under pressure to strike one of the fastest trade negotiations in history. Tokyo’s chief negotiator, Hiroshi Matsuura, warned that both sides will need to “limit their ambitions” as there is little time for talks on contentious areas such as tariffs and quotas. This could mean that key sectors such as agriculture may suffer. – Telegraph
Two of Britain’s biggest accountancy firms are facing an investigation by the industry watchdog over their roles in the London Capital & Finance minibond scandal. The Financial Reporting Council is expected to announce as early as tomorrow that it will investigate audits carried out by PwC and EY, two of the Big Four accountancy firms, and by Oliver Clive & Co, a small, London-based firm, the Times has learnt. All three separately signed off the company’s financial accounts in three different years without raising concerns. – The Times
US close
Wall Street stocks closed in the green on Monday, even as investors digested data showing an accelerated number of new Covid-19 infections in several US states.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.59% at 26,024.96, the S&P 500 added 0.65% to 3,117.86, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.11% firmer at 10,056.48.
It was a broadly green session for the Dow, with the exception of a short dip below the waterline during morning trading, the benchmark having opened 70.79 points higher, putting it on track to snap a three-day losing streak started last week.
The positivity came despite the US reporting more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday - the country's largest single-day increase since 1 May.
Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona all reported record single-day infection numbers and a total of 24 states showed an increasing trend in cases over the last week.
However, despite the heightened volume of new cases New York City will permit firms to reopen offices from today following a three-month lockdown across the financial centre.
Trade adviser Peter Navarro claimed that while the White House was preparing for a second wave, it wasn't actually expecting one to hit.
"We don't necessarily expect a second wave but prudence dictates that we plan for it. There is no contradiction," he said on Sunday.