Weekly review

Equity view

AstraZeneca on Friday said its Danicopan add-on anti blood-clotting drug had met a primary endpoint in a phase III trial. The company said the treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) - a rare, chronic, progressive and potentially life-threatening blood disorder - showed positive high-level results in the trial.

Performance nutrition company Science in Sport has named Daniel Lampard as its next chief financial officer. Science in Sport said Lampard will take over as CFO on 19 October, joining the firm from Unbound Group, an omnichannel direct-to-consumer business.

Online retailer MySale has rejected a takeover bid from Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, stating it does not consider the terms of the deal to be "fair" or "reasonable". MySale said that Frasers' offer of 2.0p per share did not reflect "an adequate value or premium" for control of the business and that it "undervalues MySale and its prospects".

Naked Wines announced on Friday that Rowan Gormley, its former chief executive officer and a “material shareholder”, had been appointed as an advisor to the board as it finalised its revised operational and financial plans. The AIM-traded firm said it would announce its revised plans during the week of 17 October.

Oil and gas giant Shell revealed on Thursday that chief executive Ben van Beurden will step down from the role at the end of 2022 following a 39-year career with the group. Shell stated that van Beurden will be succeeded by Wael Sawan on 1 January but will remain with the group until 30 June, acting as an advisor to the board, in order to ensure a smooth transition.

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has reached an agreement with Airbus to purchase a further 102 A321 aircraft, the bulk of which will be delivered between 2025 and 2027. Wizz Air exercised its purchase rights in relation to 75 Airbus A321neo aircraft and 27 Airbus A321XLR aircraft, with delivery dates of the purchase option aircraft subject to its agreement with Airbus and the approval of shareholders.

Hilton Food Group warned on full-year profits on Thursday as it posted a drop in interim pre-tax profit, having taken a hit from higher costs. In the 28 weeks to 17 July, adjusted pre-tax profit fell 3.,9% to £34.4m, impacted by higher interest costs. Revenue increased 20.4% from the same period a year earlier to £2bn, as volumes rose 3.6% to 271,708 tonnes.

Ticketing platform operator Trainline said on Thursday that it had delivered a "strong" first-half performance, driven by new product launches and brand campaigns. Trainline stated group net ticket sales had risen 17% year-on-year to £2.2bn, reflecting a solid post-Covid industry recovery across Europe, while group revenues rose 28% versus the same period in the 2020 trading year to £165.0m.

Mining giant Rio Tinto has formed a joint venture with China Baowu Steel Group to develop the Western Range iron ore project in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Rio Tinto, which will take up a controlling 54% stake in the project, will invest $1.3bn to develop the mine, with Baowu putting in an additional $700.0m.

Exploration and production firm Tullow Oil said on Wednesday that sales revenues and gross profits had grown in the six months ended 30 June as the group's turnaround gained momentum throughout the period. Tullow Oil said interim sales revenues had risen from $727.0m to $846.0m, with a realised oil price of $87.0 per barrel, while gross profits almost doubled from $321.0m to $620.0m, and pre-tax profits shot up from $93.0m to $264.0m.

Real estate investor Supermarket Income REIT has acquired a Tesco supermarket in Llanelli, South Wales, for a total purchase price of £66.8m. Supermarket Income REIT said on Wednesday that the store, which was developed for Tesco in 1989, occupies a 10-acre site with an 82,046 square foot net sales area supermarket, a 16-pump petrol filling station, and 753 car parking spaces.

Homeware retailer Dunelm reported record full-year results on Wednesday in a "challenging" environment. In the year to 2 July, pre-tax profit jumped 32.4% to a record £209m, on total sales of £1.6bn, up 16.2% on the year. Dunelm said that while year-on-year growth benefited from the lockdown-related store closures a year earlier, growth of 41.1% compared to FY19 shows "the pace at which the business has developed through the pandemic period".

Media company Future said on Tuesday that the "encouraging performance" detailed by the group in its June trading update had continued despite operating within a "challenging macro" environment. Future stated that full-year adjusted operating profits were projected to be at the "top end" of market expectations of £266.4m to £270.7m after it witnessed a return to organic audience growth in the second half, with Covid comparators fully lapped.

Silver producer Fresnillo has wrapped up all construction activities related to the final tie-in to the electrical grid at its Juanicipio mine, leaving all systems now ready to be energised. Fresnillo said on Tuesday that prior to making the final tie-in to the electrical grid, Mexico's state-owned electricity regulator, the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, requested additional testing to verify compatibility between new and updated substation equipment, as well as existing older infrastructure.

Home REIT, which helps to house homeless people, said it had bought 158 properties across England for £57.4m. The company on Tuesday said the acquisitions were funded by the proceeds of its £263m equity issue in May, of which it has now used £227m.

Posh tonics maker Fevertree reported a drop in first-half profit on Tuesday as it was hit by rising costs. In the six months to 30 June, pre-tax profit slid 30% to £17.6m, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were 25% lower at £22m. Revenue rose 14% to £160.9m.

Residential property business Grainger said on Monday that rents had grown 4.5% year-to-date on a like-for-like basis amid "strong" rental market conditions in the second half of the trading year. Grainger, which highlighted a record occupancy rate of 98.2%, did note that despite the "buoyant rental market", it was also "very mindful" of financial challenges facing many individuals, leading it to take a "responsible approach" to rental increases.

Antofagasta said Chilean authorities had ordered a halt on work at its Los Pelambres desalination plant until equipment lost in a platform collapse last month is recovered. On August 15 severe sea swells overturned a construction platform at the project. The mining company said there had been no significant environmental impact or damage to the works, and some of the equipment and materials lost have been recovered.

Chemical technology group Accsys Technologies said on Monday that Accoya wood revenues were broadly flat year-on-year as volumes were limited by production capacity and cautioned that its Hull plant would likely no longer become operational in 2022. Accsys Technologies stated it had witnessed continuing strong demand and stable Accoya wood revenue for the first five months of the 2023 financial year.

Hotel Chocolat has announced the closure of its US website. The premium chocolatier said in July that investment levels in the US would be materially reduced, limited to essential working capital only for online and wholesale.

Economic news

Retail sales fell sharply last month hit by rising prices and the ensuing cost-of-living crisis. According to the Office for National Statistics, in seasonally-adjusted terms, total retail sales volumes in the UK fell at a month-on-month pace of 1.6% in August (consensus: -1.4%), following a rise of 0.4% in July.

Newly-appointed chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is considering scrapping the cap on bankers’ bonuses, according to reports. The European Union-wide rule - which caps bonuses at twice an employee’s salary - was introduced in 2014 in the wake of the 2008/09 crisis, which saw banks collapse and ushered in austerity policies in the UK.

The government said on Wednesday that it will outline plans next week to support businesses through the energy crisis. A spokesman for prime minister Liz Truss told reporters that the scheme would help with October energy bills and that it would be backdated if necessary.

UK house prices rose in the year to July at their highest annual rate since May 2003, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics. Average prices increased 15.5%, up from 7.8% in June. The ONS attributed the jump in annual inflation to a base effect from the falls in prices seen this time last year, as a result of changes in the stamp duty holiday.

UK inflation eased in August but remained close to a 40-year high, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics. Consumer price inflation slowed to 9.9% from 10.1% in July, coming in below consensus expectations for an increase to 10.2%.

Grocery price inflation reached a new record in August, according to fresh research released on Tuesday, with Britons further switching to cheaper lines and discount supermarkets. Take-home grocery sales increased 3.8% in the 12 weeks ended 4 September according to Kantar, making for the third consecutive month that the sector’s sales grew after more than a year in decline as a result of comparisons with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The City watchdog revealed the likely outcome of its probe into the collapsed Woodford Fund late on Monday, as part of its investigation into the planned takeover of its administrator, Link Group. As part of its takeover plans, Toronto-listed Dye and Durham (D&D) was required to seek approval to take control of a number of firms authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

UK real wages continued to fall in July, while the jobless rate dipped to its lowest level since 1974 as more people dropped out of the workforce, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6% in the three months to July from 3.8% in the previous quarter. Economists were expecting the rate to be unchanged.

The UK economy returned to growth in July, but this was weaker than expected as industrial production and construction shrank, according to figures released on Monday by the Office for National Statistics. GDP rose 0.2% following a 0.6% decline in June, coming in below economists’ expectations of 0.5% growth.

Asset manager Abrdn said on Tuesday that it has sold a stake of around 2% in Indian insurer HDFC Life. Abrdn sold 43m shares in HDFC on the National Stock Exchange of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange. They were sold at an average price of 574.15 rupees.

International events

US consumer confidence improved slightly in early September despite signs of uncertainty regarding the outlook for economic growth, the results of a closely followed survey revealed. However, long-run inflation expectations improved.

Equity strategists at BofA Securities told clients to expect new lows in the stock market as US Treasury note yields continue to move higher. The annualised loss for government bonds year-to-date was already the worst since 1949 but noted but the word on the Street was "Everyone worried about return of capital, not return on capital".

Economic growth in Asia's largest economy held up slightly better than expected in August. That was due in part to support from government policies, which helped offset some of the drag from Covid-19 restrictions and power shortages during the recent heat wave, said Capital Economics.

US retail sales unexpectedly rose in August but demand is slowing, according to figures released on Thursday by the Labor Department. Retail sales rose 0.3% following a downwardly-revised 0.4% decline in July, and versus consensus expectations of a 0.1% dip. Previously, the figures for July had shown an unchanged reading.

US industrial production decreased 0.2% month-on-month in August, according to the Federal Reserve, missing market expectations for a 0.1% increase. Manufacturing output ticked up 0.1%, down from a 0.6% rise in July, with the index for durable manufacturing unchanged, the index for non-durable manufacturing up 0.2%, and the index for other manufacturing dipping 0.1%.

First-time unemployment claims fell to 213,000 in the week ended 10 September, according to the Labor Department, down from the previous week's revised print of 218,000 and well below market expectations for a reading of 226,000. The drop brought about the lowest amount of weekly jobless claims since the last week of May, pointing to a tight labor market and giving the Fed the green light to make further aggressive interest rate hikes.

China’s central bank has kept a key lending rate unchanged, in line with expectations. The People’s Bank of China left the one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) at 2.75% on Thursday, after trimming it by 10 basis points in a surprise move in August.

Germany’s government is mulling the possibility of buying a chunk of a second large natural gas importer, it was reported on Thursday, as the energy crisis continued to worsen across Europe. According to Bloomberg, Berlin was considering a rescue package for VNG - the gas importing subsidiary of utility supplier EnBW - that could include a capital injection to give it a minority shareholding.

US producer prices declined again in August as fuel costs continued to fall, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Labor Department. The producer price index for final demand fell 0.1% from July, in line with consensus expectations. Compared with August 2021, the PPI was up 8.7%, marking the lowest increase since August 2021.

Alphabet’s main operating subsidiary Google has lost its appeal against the European Commission’s biggest-ever antitrust fine, it emerged on Wednesday, with the bulk of the penalty being upheld. Google was issued a €4.3bn (£3.72bn) fine in July 2018, after the EC said the company’s policies around the Android operating system “denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete”.

Reporting by Josh White, Michele Maatouk, Iain Gilbert, Frank Prenesti, Abigail Townsend and Alexander Bueso at Sharecast.com.