Source: Sharecast
Equity view
Drugmaker GSK said on Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration had approved its Blenrep asset in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. GSK said the approval covers patients who have received at least two prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent, and was based on data from the pivotal phase III DREAMM-7 trial.
Exploration and production Energean's Israeli subsidiary has signed a transmission agreement with Israel Natural Gas Lines for capacity in the Nitzana pipeline, in line with its strategic focus on long-term value creation. Energean said the Nitzana pipeline was a new onshore pipeline that will be built from Ramat Hovav to the border with Egypt in the Nitzana area.
JTC has extended takeover talks with Permira Advisers and Warburg Pincus for the third time, as the fund solutions provider continues to to engage in discussions with the private equity firms. On 12 September, the company confirmed received a preliminary and conditional non-binding takeover proposal from Warburg Pincus as well as a revised offer from Permira, having rejected earlier approaches from both parties over recent months.
London-listed Capricorn Energy confirmed on Friday it was on track to meet full-year production guidance. Providing a brief update on trading and payments, the firm - formerly Cairn Energy - said: "Capricorn remains on track to deliver above the mid-point of 2025 full year production guidance, of 17,000 to 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, with year-to-date production averaging 19,924 boepd to mid-October."
Homeware retailer Dunelm hailed a strong first-quarter performance on Thursday, with total sales up 6.2%. Sales in the 13-week period to 27 September rose to £428m. Dunelm said this was driven by both higher volumes and increased average item values from product and category mix, "as customers continued to respond well to its value proposition at all price points".
Consumer goods giant Unilever reiterated its full-year outlook on Thursday, despite "subdued" market conditions, following a strong third quarter. Updating on trading, the blue chip said turnover rose 3.9% on an underlying basis, to €14.7bn, or by 4% once the soon-to-be demerged ice cream business is stripped out. Analysts had pencilled in growth of 3.7%.
Mining giant Antofagasta said on Wednesday that copper and gold production had increased in the three months ended 30 September, helping offset a decline in molybdenum production due to to lower grades at its Los Pelambre asset, but said full-year copper production would be at the lower end of its guidance range. Antofagasta said copper production came to 161,800 tonnes in the third-quarter, an 1.1% increase from Q2, with year-to-date production rising 2.8% to 476,600 tonnes, while gold production coming to 53,900 ounces, an 11.6% increase from the previous quarter. Year-to-date gold production hit 145,000 ounces, up 22.2% year-on-year.
Shares in London Stock Exchange Group jumped on Thursday morning after the financial markets platform operator raised its margin guidance, unveiled another £1bn in share buybacks and announced a £170m investment from a consortium of leading banks. The company said that, due to strong momentum in the third quarter with growth across all business lines, EBITDA margins are expected to increase by around 100 basis points in 2025, the top end of its 50-100bp guidance.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo has reiterated its full-year production guidance after trading in line with expectations in the third quarter, but said gold output was trending towards the upper end of its target range. As expected, silver production of 11.7m ounces fell by 6.6% quarter-on-quarter and 19.1% year-on-year due to the cessation of mining activities at San Julián, which accounted for a fifth of total silver output in 2024, as well as lower ore grades.
Consumer goods giant Reckitt Group reiterated its full-year guidance on Wednesday as it reported a "strong third-quarter performance", with like-for-like net revenue up 7% in the three months ended 30 September at £3.61bn. Core LFL net revenue growth came to 6.7% for the third quarter and 5.0% year-to-date, hitting £2.6bn and £7.6bn, respectively, driven by "stand-out growth" in emerging Markets and a return to growth in North America and Europe.
Softcat reported a jump in full-year profit and revenue on Wednesday as it pointed to a strong performance in the base business. In the year to the end of July, underlying operating profit grew 16.9% to £180.1m, with gross invoiced income up 26.8% to £3.6bn and revenue 51.5% higher at £1.5bn. The company, which provides IT infrastructure products and services, said its performance was driven by continued strength in the base business and an "outstanding" second-half performance supported by larger solutions projects.
Investment firm Aberdeen reported a 6% year-to-date rise in assets under management and administration to £542.4bn on Wednesday, driven by market gains and continued momentum across interactive investor and its investment platforms. Aberdeen said total customers at interactive investor rose 14% year-on-year to 492,000, including around 20,000 expected from the Jarvis acquisition. Daily retail trades jumped 43% to 26,600, while Q3 net flows hit £1.9bn — up 58% on the prior year. SIPP transfers also hit a record, with 98,000 customers at period end, up 29% year-on-year.
Property investor Derwent London said on Tuesday that it has formed a strategic partnership with property and urban regeneration business Related Argent connected to the Old Street Quarter EC1 site, which it aims to acquire before year-end 2027. Derwent London said the partnership follows studies that showed that the 2.5-acre central London site has the potential for "a substantial" mixed-use campus development.
Coca-Cola HBC is to significantly ramp up its presence across Africa, the drinks giant announced on Tuesday, after agreeing to acquire one of the global brand’s biggest bottling partners. Under the terms of the deal, the London-listed drinks firm will buy a 75% stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) for $2.6bn, valuing the Johannesburg-based business at $3.4bn. It will also enter into an option agreement to buy the remaining 25% from CCBA’s owners, The Coca-Cola Company and Gutsche Family Investments (GFI), once the deal completes, and pursue a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Evoke - formerly 888 Holdings - said on Tuesday that Lord Jon Mendelsohn was stepping down as chair and non-executive director with immediate effect. Mendelsohn joined the board in September 2020 and was interim executive chair between 30 January and 16 October 2023. Mark Summerfield has been appointed as the permanent non-executive chair of the board with immediate effect.
Property investment and development firm Segro said on Tuesday that improving occupier sentiment had driven "a strong quarter" of letting activity, with £22m of new rent signed in the three months ended 30 September. Segro stated it has now signed £53m of new headline rent so far in 2025, as its prime logistics portfolio continued to deliver strong rental growth and high occupancy. The FTSE 100-listed firm said rent reviews, renewals and regears had driven a 37% uplift year-to-date, with UK assets seeing a 49% increase and Continental Europe up 8%. Occupancy stood at 94.3%, with customer retention at 86%.
AstraZeneca has received the green light from European regulators for its Saphnelo treatment for lupus, the pharma giant announced on Monday. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency has recommended Saphnelo for approval as a self-administered, once-weekly pre-filled pen for adult patients with systemic lupus erythematosus on top of standard therapy, the pharma company announced on Tuesday.
Industrial park owner Sirius Real Estate on Monday said it had bought a site in Feldkirchen, Germany, for €43.7m including acquisition costs. The business park currently generates €3.4m of annualised rent roll per year and is 94% occupied, the company said in a statement. Its major tenant is Excelitas, a designer and manufacturer of optical and photonic products for the defence, aerospace, medical and industrial sectors, which occupies 72% of the site on a lease with 10.2 years to run.
Fintech firm Plus500 reiterated its full-year guidance on Monday as it said "substantial strategic progress" made during the first nine months of 2025 had helped drive future growth and returns. Plus500 said year-to-date revenues were up 2% year-on-year at $597.8m, while underlying earnings were up 1% at $267.8m in the nine months ended 30 September, equating to an EBITDA margin of 45%.
Secure Trust Bank increased its motor finance redress provision on Monday by around £16m following the Financial Conduct Authority’s ruling on the scandal the week before last. The bank now expects it will need a total of about £21m to compensate customers for motor finance mis-selling. This comprises £16m in redress and £5m in costs and STB said that if the FCA scheme was implemented entirely in its current form, it would expect to increase the provision for redress by a further £6m.
Economic news
Retail sales jumped in the last quarter, official data showed on Friday, boosted by strong demand for summer clothing and gold jewellery. According to the Office for National Statistics, the quantity of goods bought was estimated to have risen 0.9% in the three months to September, the highest level since summer 2022.
The UK economy expanded in October, a closely-watched survey showed on Friday, boosted by an above-forecast rebound in manufacturing and easing cost inflation. The S&P Global flash UK PMI composite output index came in at 51.1, up from 50.1 a month previously and the sixth consecutive month it has been above the neutral 50.0 mark. A print below 50.0 suggests contraction but one above it indicates growth.
UK car and van production fell sharply in September, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, with total output down 35.9% year-on-year to 54,319 units. The decline was driven by a cyber incident that halted production at Jaguar Land Rover and ongoing restructuring in the commercial vehicle segment, which saw commercial vehicle output drop 77.9% to 3,229 units—marking a sixth consecutive monthly decline.
UK consumer confidence edged higher in October, a long-running survey showed on Friday, despite ongoing cost pressures and uncertainty around the upcoming Budget. According to the latest consumer confidence index from GfK, part of retail consultancy NIQ, the overall score ticked up two points to -17.
Increased US trade tariffs will lower economic growth in the UK and put downward pressure on inflation, according to the Bank of England's Swati Dhingra. At a keynote speech at a Central Bank of Ireland conference on Thursday, the external Monetary Policy Committee member said the Trump administration's step-up in trade duties would be a "drag on global growth" through weaker demand.
Weak demand weighed on UK manufacturing activity over the past three months, with output volumes falling and new orders sinking at their fastest pace in more than five years, according to the Confederation of British Industry on Thursday. According the CBI's Industrial Trends Survey for the three months to October, output volumes decreased at a similar pace to the three months to September, with the net balance for output (firms reporting an increase minus those reporting a decrease) at -16%.
British shoppers are starting to eye up festive spending, a survey showed on Thursday, despite ongoing concerns about the strength of the economy. According to the latest consumer sentiment monitor from the British Retail Consortium, expectations for overall spending over the next three months was 18 in October, up four points on September.
Britain’s energy industry made a sweeping call for regulator Ofgem to be broken up and stripped of many of its powers on Wednesday, accusing it of excessive bureaucracy, regulatory failures and driving up costs for consumers. In a report, industry body Energy UK - which represents more than 80 suppliers including Octopus Energy, Centrica, EDF and Drax - said Ofgem had become “too big and bureaucratic,” overseeing “a dramatic increase in red tape” that has pushed up household bills and slowed investment.
The attack on Jaguar Land Rover has cost the UK economy £1.9bn, according to a cybersecurity body, making it the country’s costliest ever hack. JLR was forced to shutter operations for five weeks following a cyber incident at the end of August. The UK’s largest car manufacturer, which is owned by India's Tata Motors, normally produces around 1,000 cars a day from sites in Solihull, Halewood and Wolverhampton.
The rate of inflation was unchanged in September, official figures showed on Wednesday, after a jump in airfares was offset by lower prices elsewhere. The cost of food and drink also fell for the first time since May 2024. According to the Office for National Statistics, the consumer prices index rose by 3.8% in the 12 months to September 2025, unchanged on August.
International events
US consumer prices increased in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' closely watched consumer price index. Headline CPI rose 0.3% month-on-month, down from 0.4% in August, while the annual rate rose from 2.9% to 3%, the highest it’s been since January, with food index being the largest contributor to the monthly increase, while energy prices rose 2.8%.
Private sector activity across the eurozone expanded by more than expected in October, according to data from S&P Global/Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) on Friday, growing at its fastest pace in a year and a half. The flash reading of the S&P Global/HCOB composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 52.2 this month from 51.2 in September, marking the 10th straight month of growth – measured by any figure over 50.0.
US existing home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 4.06m in September, according to the National Association of Realtors, ahead of forecasts of 4.1m. September's print saw existing home sales rise 1.5%, more than reversing the previous month's 0.02% decline, with sales increasing in the Northeast, South, and West, offsetting a fall in the Midwest.
Chinese Vice-Premier He Lefeng is to meet US officials for a new round of high-level trade talks in Malaysia this week, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday. The talks will take place from October 24 to 27 amid an escalating trade war between the world’s biggest economies over tariffs.
US mortgage applications inched lower in the week ended 17 October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, marking the fourth consecutive weekly decline. The MBA's overall market index fell by 0.3% last week, following a 1.8% drop the week before and a 4.7% decline previously.
Chinese shipments of rare earth magnets dropped sharply in September, with exports to the US falling by more than a quarter, as concerns mount over Beijing's dominance of global supply chains of vital minerals. Magnet exports declined 6.1% to 5,774 tonnes, following three straight months of increases that took volumes to a seven-month high in August, according to customs data reported on Monday.
European energy ministers have agreed to phase out Russian energy imports within three years, it was confirmed on Monday. In a statement published on Monday, the Council of the European Union said it had agreed its negotiating position on the draft regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas. Should the proposed regulation be adopted, there would be a full ban of all imports of pipeline and liquefied natural gas from Russia from 1 January 2028.
The Eurozone’s construction sector faltered in August, official figures showed on Monday, weighed down by weakness in civil engineering. According to first estimates from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, production in construction eased 0.1% in August, and by 0.9% in the wider bloc.
A host of Chinese economic data came in line or ahead of forecasts on Monday – though GDP and retail sales growth both slowed to their lowest rates in a year while fixed-asset investment unexpectedly fell – as the country's central bank left its benchmark lending rates unchanged for the fifth straight month. The year-on-year rate of Chinese GDP growth slowed as expected to 4.8% in the third quarter, down from 5.2% in the second quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This was the lowest annual increase registered since the third quarter of 2024 amid subdued domestic consumption and an ongoing slump in real estate markets.
German producer prices fell 1.7% last month year on year due to lower energy costs, according to official statistics published on Monday. Prices fell 0.1% compared to August, the federal stats agency added. Energy prices fell 7.3% year-on-year, with natural gas prices down 10.7% annually and electricity prices declining by 10.2%.