Astra and BAE on track

London open

Ahead of the opening bell on Thursday, traders in the City were predicting a 28-point rise in the FTSE 100 to 7,130.

Stocks to watch

AstraZeneca's product sales returned to growth in the third quarter as new cancer drugs especially began to make a noticeable impact on the top line. Product sales increased 8% in the quarter to $5.27bn to lift revenue in the year to date to $15.28bn, down 4% on last year or 2% lower if currency swings are ignored.

BAE Systems said its full year outlook remained unchanged, with flat underlying earnings per share compared to last year as its navy ship and fighter jet programmes continued to make progress.

Fashion designer Burberry reported an "exceptional response" to the new clothing and accessories of new creative chief Riccardo Tisci but that sales and profits were lower in the first half of its trading year.

Interim pre-tax profit at Autotrader rose 9% to £114.5m driven by strong adoption of new products and advertising packages by both retailers and manufacturers. The company added that the strong first half meant revenue growth for the full year was likely to exceed previous guidance.

Newspaper round-up

The UK property market is at its weakest for six years, with prices flat or falling across half the country according to Britain’s official surveyors body, with reports that sales are “in limbo” until a Brexit deal emerges. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said its monthly survey of members found “the weakest reading since September 2012” in October, with prices falling in London, the south-east, south-west and East Anglia. – Guardian

The Ministry of Defence is opening up its infrastructure projects to try to get more small suppliers involved in its £3bn-a-year spending programme and reduce its vulnerability to a Carillion-style collapse. For the first time military chiefs are setting out the next five years of major contracts, including the construction and refurbishment of buildings and bases, as well as facilities agreements such as catering and cleaning. – Telegraph

President Trump immediately set his sights on re-election in 2020 yesterday after claiming to have “defied history” by making gains in US midterm elections even as his party lost control of one chamber of Congress. He asked Mike Pence, the vice-president, to be his running-mate again — and Mr Pence agreed — during a bombastic and at times bad-tempered press conference performance from a president pumped up by several “incredible” Senate victories. – The Times

US close

The Dow Jones closed over 500 points higher on Wednesday as US stocks surged after the result of the mid-term elections allowed both sides to claim victory.

At the close, the Dow Jones was 2.13% higher at 26,180.30, while the S&P 500 closed 2.12% firmer at 2,813.89, in its strongest performance in almost three weeks, and the Nasdaq was 2.64% stronger at 7,570.75.

Following the mid-term elections, which saw the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives while the Republicans tightened their grip on the Senate, the Dow Jones closed 544 points higher, marking the highest close for the blue-chip gauge since 9 October.