Vanquis Bank and Moneybarn keep Provident steady, AstraZeneca sees success with immuno-oncology drug

London open

The FTSE 100 was expected to open three points higher on Friday, after closing up 0.03% to 7,386.63 on Thursday.

Stocks to watch

Non-standard lender Provident Financial said its Vanquis Bank and Moneybarn operations had made a good start to the year, trading in line with internal plans and “making excellent progress” in delivering the initiatives to augment medium-term growth. At Vanquis Bank, first quarter new account bookings of 122,000 were up 45% year on year. Customer and receivables grew 12% and 14% respectively. In CCD receivables ended the first quarter around 3% higher than March 2016. Customer numbers were 6% lower at 755,000, reflecting normal seasonal reduction, Provident said.

AstraZeneca's durvalumab immuno-oncology drug has become the first such medicine to successfully treat advanced lung cancer patients who had not had success with chemotherapy. The drug, which is branded Imfinzi, was found during a mid-trial analysis conducted by an independent committee to have already met a primary endpoint by showing statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful progression-free survival in patients receiving Imfinzi compared to placebo for locally-advanced, unresectable (stage III) non-small cell lung cancer.

Closed-end investment company HarbourVest Global Private Equity announced its audited results for the year to 31 January on Friday, reporting continued growth in net asset value per share of 10% during the year, to $18.47. The FTSE 250 firm said that equated to annual compound growth of 11% since 2010. Its share price was up 37% to £11.95 at year-end, with a further rise of 7% to £12.78 between then and 10 May.

Newspaper round-up

Relations between the world’s two largest economies have hit “a new high”, Donald Trump’s commerce secretary has claimed, announcing a “herculean” trade deal between Washington and Beijing in the latest sign of warming ties. Trump frequently lashed out at China on the campaign trail, describing Beijing as an “enemy” of the United States. - Guardian

Deliveroo, the takeaway delivery company that relies on 15,000 self-employed couriers, has made changes to its contracts for riders following pressure from parliament. The gig economy company has removed a controversial clause in its “supplier agreement” that couriers could not challenge their self-employed status at an employment tribunal. – Guardian

The chief executive of Barclays, Jes Staley, has fallen victim to an email prankster pretending to be the bank’s chairman. In an embarrassing development, Mr Staley, who is under investigation from City regulators for twice trying to uncover the identity of a whistle-blower in contravention of bank rules, replied to emails pretending to be from chairman John McFarlane. – Telegraph

British virtual simulation firm Improbable has raised $502m (£390m) in a funding round led by Japan's SoftBank, in one of the largest investments ever made in an early stage European tech firm. Improbable said the investment would give SoftBank a "non-controlling" stake, meaning the funding round values Improbable at more than $1bn. - Telegraph

Lloyds Banking Group is set to pay millions of pounds in compensation to thousands of customers who were mis-sold investment products as “low risk” that turned out to be highly complex. The lender is writing to more than 7,000 customers of the bank and Scottish Widows, its investment arm, offering money to those who bought structured investments, which have been the subject of growing anger among consumer groups because the products were said to be too complex and performed poorly. – The Times

House of Fraser has picked the man behind the Goodwood Revival and Festival of Speed to run the department store business in an effort to boost the “experience” of shopping at its stores. In a surprise appointment, Alex Williamson, chief executive of the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, will join House of Fraser in the same role at the end of July. – The Times

US close

Hawkish Fedpseak overnight pushed Wall Street off its lofty perch against a backdrop of sharp share price falls for Macy's and Snapchat which appeared to dent sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 0.11% to 20,919.41, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.22% to 2,394.44 and the Nasdaq 100 lost 0.13% to 5,674.22.

Speaking on Wednesday evening, the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Boston, Eric Rosengren, said three more interest rate hikes were still appropriate in 2017.

Combined, the news from the Fed and the latest company results appeared to give investors looking for reasons to continue buying into the market pause for thought.

On a related note, analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch pointed out how the S&P 500's forward price-to-earnings ratio - at 17.5 - was at its highest since 2004 and 15% above its long-term average.