Plus500 buys Mehta Equities, EMA accepts GSK's application to extend use of Nucala

Stocks to watch

Fintech group Plus500 has bought Indian financial services company Mehta Equities for $20m, the company said on Monday. Mehta provides broking services including futures, options and cash equities trading products, Plus500 added.

GSK announced on Monday that the European Medicines Agency has accepted its application to expand the use of ‘Nucala’, or mepolizumab, as an add-on maintenance treatment for patients with eosinophilic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant said the submission was supported by results from a phase three trial, which demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in moderate to severe COPD exacerbations compared to placebo. If approved, mepolizumab would become the first biologic with monthly dosing available for COPD patients.

Newspaper round-up

Keir Starmer has been warned against “appeasing” Donald Trump as he considers reducing a major tax for US tech companies while cutting disability benefits and public sector jobs. His chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed on Sunday that there were “ongoing” discussions about the UK’s £1bn-a-year digital services tax that affects companies including Meta and Amazon. – Guardian

Ministers are considering diverting money from a £950m scheme to install rapid chargers for electric cars on the UK’s motorways, announced five years ago, after it failed to make a single grant. Much of the cash allocated to the rapid charging fund (RCF) could be redirected to investments in other charging schemes, or to support the transition to electric vehicles more broadly, although decisions have yet to be made, according to a person close to discussions in government. – Guardian

Fresh doubt has been cast over the race to find a white knight buyer for Thames Water as it struggles to provide details of its labyrinthine network of pipes, sewage works and reservoirs. Thames Water has stepped up the hunt for new investors willing to pump in billions of pounds of emergency capital after the Court of Appeal approved a £3bn emergency debt bailout from its existing creditors. – Telegraph

Gatwick Airport is preparing to reject government demands for it to guarantee that the majority of passengers using its proposed new runway will arrive by train. Stewart Wingate, chief executive, said meeting some of the requirements for approval of the £2.5bn plan to add 100,000 flights a year, such as lower noise levels, may be feasible. – Telegraph

Britain’s life science sector has missed out on an estimated £15 billion a year over the past decade due to a decline in its international competitiveness, a report warns. The sector has been designated one of the government’s eight key growth drivers as part of its forthcoming industrial strategic plan but there are concerns that the UK is losing ground to other major economies. – The Times

US close

A late-afternoon rally sent US stock indices into positive territory by the close on Friday, though gains were limited after a tumultuous few weeks with markets still trading close to six-month lows.

The Dow and S&P 500 both finished just 0.1% higher, while the Nasdaq rose 0.5%, helped by gains from heavyweights Tesla, Apple and Meta.

The S&P 500 in particular managed to eke out a 0.1% gain for the week after four straight weeks of losses.

Despite Friday's gains, investor risk appetite remained capped by ongoing uncertainty regarding the economy and unpredictable trade policy moves coming from Washington