Capita to sell Pay360 unit, AZN's Beyfortus recommended for EU market authorisation

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 34.5 points lower ahead of the bell on Friday after closing just 0.07% firmer in the previous session at 7,282.07.

Stocks to watch

Business process outsourcing firm Capita has agreed to sell its Pay360 division to Access PaySuite in a deal that values the division at £150.0m.

Capita said on Friday that the disposal of Pay360 was on a cash-free, debt-free basis, representing a 14.3x multiple on the business' 2021 underlying earnings of £10.5m. Taking into account cash-like and debt-like items, Capita expects to receive gross proceeds of roughly £156.0m upon completion.

AstraZeneca and Sanofi said on Friday that their Beyfortus drug for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease in newborns and infants has been recommended for marketing authorisation in the European Union.

If approved, AZN stated Beyfortus would be the first and only single-dose passive immunisation for the broad infant population, including those born healthy, at term or preterm, or with specific health conditions.

Newspaper round-up

Shell has named Wael Sawan as its next chief executive as it confirmed that Ben van Beurden is to step down after nine years in charge. Europe's biggest oil and gas group said that Sawan, 48, head of its integrated gas and renewables division, would succeed Van Beurden, 64, in January. - The Times

Snaking through London, the queue to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ran for 4.4 miles on Thursday, stretching from Westminster to Tower Bridge and beyond. However, those looking to join the back of the line might have been forgiven for thinking it began 5,300 miles away in Fresno, California. - Telegraph

Almost 80% of the UK's lowest-paid workers say they are now facing the toughest financial squeeze of their lifetimes, according to new research by the Living Wage Foundation. Liz Truss has averted a further increase in utility bills with her "energy price guarantee" – a radical measure that could cost taxpayers more than £100.0bn – but many poorer households are already struggling to make ends meet. - Guardian

Retail sales unexpectedly rose in the United States last month as falling petrol prices boosted consumer spending, stirring investors' fears about increasing interest rates. The rise of 0.3% in August was more robust than expected by economists, who thought it would remain unchanged. The official data was released days after another report showed that inflation remained stubbornly high. - The Times

BP is in line for dividends worth hundreds of millions of pounds from Russia's oil and gas giant Rosneft even after pledging to ditch its stake in the company. The FTSE 100 oil and gas giant has yet to sell its 19.75% of Rosneft and so is entitled to its share of Rosneft's 441.0bn rouble (£6.4bn) payout for 2021, worth roughly £1.2bn. - Telegraph

US close

Wall Street stocks were in the red at the end of trading on Thursday after market participants digested a number of key data points.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.56% at 30,961.82, while the S&P 500 was 1.13% weaker at 3,901.35 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.43% softer at 11,552.36.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com