GSK's Cervarix receives two-dose approval from China's NMPA, Vistry launches share buyback programme

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 29.8 points lower ahead of the bell on Friday after closing 0.56% higher in the previous session at 7,564.92.

Stocks to watch

British pharmaceutical giant GSK said on Friday that China's National Medical Products Administration has approved a two-dose vaccine schedule for its Cervarix treatment in girls aged between 9-14 years for the prevention of cervical cancer.

The FTSE 100-listed firm highlighted that the NMPA's authorisation of the two-dose regimen added China to a list of approximately 100 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that have granted two-dose approval for the treatment.

Housebuilder Vistry has launched a £35.0m share buyback programme as part of an effort to return surplus capital to investors and reduce the group's overall share capital.

Vistry said on Friday that the share buyback comes after a "strong start to the year" that has led the company to expect full-year margins in both housebuilding and partnerships to be ahead of previous 2022 targets, with adjusted pre-tax profits expected to be at the top end of market forecasts.

Newspaper round-up

BP has said it will review its investments in the North Sea after the government unveiled a windfall tax on oil and gas operators. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, laid out plans on Thursday for a 25% tax increase to taxes on North Sea energy companies, in a move that is expected to raise £5.0bn. A sunset clause in the legislation means that Sunak's "energy profits levy" will only be phased out when oil and gas prices return to historically more normal levels or by December 2025. - Guardian

Elon Musk was sued by Twitter investors for delaying the disclosure of his stake in the company, as the Tesla owner mounts a $44.0bn takeover bid for the social media platform. The investors said Musk saved himself $156.0m by failing to disclose that he had purchased more than 5% of Twitter by 14 March. Musk continued to buy stock after that, and ultimately disclosed in early April that he owned 9.2% of the company, according to the lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in San Francisco federal court. - Guardian

Used car buyers face years of shortages as Chinese Covid lockdowns and a dearth of microchips hammer manufacturers, Auto Trader has warned. The company said a global shortage of semiconductors, which are a crucial component in vehicle manufacturing, had resulted in a lack of new cars being made, causing a rush among drivers to snap up second-hand models. It added: "Furthermore, the current new car shortage is likely to result, in the coming years, in a reduction in used car stock." - Telegraph

Missguided is lining up administrators as the fast-fashion firm teeters on the brink of collapse after being issued with a winding-up petition by creditors. Police were reportedly called to the company's head office in Manchester after angry suppliers turned up after being left millions of pounds out of pocket. A winding-up petition was issued against Missguided on 10 May by Manchester-based supplier JSK Fashions, according to court filings. - Telegraph

EY is exploring a global restructuring that could see it spin off the audit division from its advisory business. The Big Four accountant confirmed last night it was in the "early stages" of separating the audit business from its higher-margin consultancy arm. "We routinely evaluate strategic options that may further strengthen EY businesses over the long term," it said. "We are in the early stages of this evaluation and no decisions have been made." - The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed well into positive territory on Thursday as investors continued to digest minutes from the FOMC's latest meeting, a second GDP estimate, and a number of retail earnings.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.61% at 32,637.19,, while the S&P 500 added 1.99% to 4,057.84 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.68% firmer at 11,740.65.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com