Shire gets EC marketing nod for VEYVONDI, SSE says first half profits likely halved
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 19 points higher on Wednesday, having closed down 0.08% at 7,273.54 on Tuesday.
Stocks to watch
Rare diseases specialist Shire announced on Wednesday that the European Commission has granted marketing authorisation for ‘VEYVONDI’ for the treatment of bleeding events and the treatment and prevention of surgical bleeding in adults with von Willebrand disease, when desmopressin treatment alone was ineffective or not indicated. The FTSE 100 drugmaker said VEYVONDI was the “first and only” recombinant von Willebrand Factor treatment in the EU for von Willebrand disease that specifically addressed the primary deficiency or dysfunction of von Willebrand Factor, while also allowing the body to restore and maintain adequate Factor VIII plasma levels.
SSE warned that first-half profits are likely to have halved compared to last year due to higher costs and lower volumes of energy being consumed. After five months of its financial year, the FTSE 100 group said full-year adjusted operating profit at its Energy Services arm were likely to be significantly lower than predicted at the start of the year ahead of its spin-off and merger with Npower.
Galliford Try posted a jump in full-year profit and revenue on Wednesday as completions rose and the housebuilder said it was making “excellent” progress towards its strategic objectives across all three businesses. In the year to 30 June, pre-tax profit surged 145% to £143.7m, on revenue of £3.13bn, up 11% on the previous year.
Newspaper round-up
Tesco will unveil its new discount chain Jack’s next week as the UK’s biggest supermarket throws down the gauntlet to the German discounters Aldi and Lidl. The first of the stores, named after the Tesco founder, Jack Cohen, will be unveiled by the supermarket’s chief executive, Dave Lewis, in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, on Wednesday. – Guardian
The company behind the payday lenders QuickQuid and Pounds to Pocket faces a potential multi million-pound bill after consumer complaints against it almost quadrupled in a year. CashEuroNet UK, which is owned by a US company, has become one of Britain’s most complained-about financial firms, attracting 4,692 complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service during the first six months of 2018. – Guardian
An influential parliamentary committee has delivered a withering assessment of collapse of the East Coast rail line earlier this year, accusing the Government of “encouraging” operator Stagecoach to overbid for the franchise. While the Transport Committee found Stagecoach, the majority owner of Virgin Trains East Coast, should take “prime” responsibility for falling into default on the franchise, the Department for Transport (DfT) failed to “temper over-optimistic bidding”. - Telegraph
The Government risks “pulling the rug out” from beneath the construction industry and would struggle to meet its target of building 300,000 new homes per year if it imposes strict migration rules after Brexit, house builders have warned. The Federation of Master Builders called upon ministers to ensure European bricklayers and carpenters can continue to come to Britain amid rising concern over skills shortages. – Telegraph
Sports Direct must hand over documents that it claimed were confidential to the accounting watchdog as part of an investigation into the retailer’s auditor, a High Court judge has ruled. The Financial Reporting Council accused Sports Direct, which is run by the billionaire Mike Ashley, of “obfuscation” and “obstruction” by refusing to give it documents to assist its investigation into the conduct of Grant Thornton, the accounting firm that audits the company’s accounts. – The Times
Sir David Green will not work on any matters he was involved in while he was director of the Serious Fraud Office when he starts his new job at Slaughter and May, the City law firm said. It announced that Sir David effectively had been ring fenced at the law firm, which he is joining as a consultant, after concerns were raised over his new role this year. – The Times
US close
US stocks finished green across the board on Tuesday, despite worries about trade relations with China intensifying after it emerged that Beijing was set to ask the World Trade Organization permission to impose sanctions on the US.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 0.44% at 25,971.06, the S&P 500 added 0.37% to 2,887.89, and the Nasdaq 100 was 0.81% higher at 7,507.87.
In trade news, the WTO's meeting agenda revealed that China will ask permission to impose sanctions on the US next week following Donald Trump's latest threat to impose tariffs on a further $267bn of Chinese goods, on top of the $200bn already planned.
"This news immediately sparked fears that the next round of trade war-escalation isn't far off," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.
Elsewhere, Washington confirmed it was in the process of arranging a second meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "The announcement is seen as a step in the right direction for political stability in the region."