Molten Ventures reassures over SVB collapse, GSK upbeat on positive developments

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The FTSE 100 was expected to open 17 points lower on Tuesday, having closed down 2.58% on Monday at 7,548.63.

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Pharmaceutical giant GSK announced positive results from a phase three trial of its MenABCWY combination vaccine candidate on Tuesday, which proved safe, tolerable, and immunogenic in healthy individuals aged 10 to 25 years. The vaccine demonstrated non-inferiority for all five Neisseria meningitides serogroups and was well tolerated with a safety profile consistent with licensed vaccines. In a separate development, GSK's drug Nucala, or mepolizumab, was accepted for review as a maintenance treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma in China, which affects an estimated 46 million adults in the country.

Tech venture capital investor Molten Ventures said it expected no impact from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, after the lender’s UK arm was rescued by HSBC. The company confirmed SVB UK provided 40% of both Molten’s current undrawn credit of up to £60m and a £90m term loan. “Furthermore, Molten has a strong cash position, with gross cash balances currently in excess of £30m of which less than £1m is currently deposited with SVB UK,” the company said on Tuesday. It added that it had “worked closely with its portfolio companies to further improve the position over recent days”.

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SVB Financial Group and two top executives have been sued by shareholders over the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, as global stocks continued to suffer on Tuesday despite assurances from US president Joe Biden. The bank’s shareholders accuse SVB Financial Group chief executive Greg Becker and chief financial officer Daniel Beck of concealing how rising interest rates would leave its Silicon Valley Bank unit “particularly susceptible” to a bank run. – Guardian

China’s top property developer expects to record a loss in 2022 – its first since the company went public in 2007 – in another blow for the country’s embattled property sector. In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Country Garden said that the losses for 2022 would amount to between 5.5bn yuan and 7.5bn yuan (£663.6m-£904.9m). In 2021 Country Garden’s profits reached 26.8bn yuan. – Guardian

Jeremy Hunt is preparing to boost the tax-free allowance for pensions by more than half a million pounds as he battles the wave of early retirement that has squeezed growth. The so-called lifetime allowance (LTA) – which is the maximum amount of money workers can put in their pensions before they are taxed – is expected to be lifted from just over £1m in the Chancellor's maiden Budget. – Telegraph

Older people have not stopped working since the pandemic because of ill-health or to look after their grandchildren but because they can afford to retire early, a think tank has claimed. There are about 516,000 more economically inactive people in Britain now than there were before Covid, about 60 per cent of whom are aged between 50 and 64, according to the Centre for Policy Studies. – The Times

The government has been urged to invest in green technologies to create a “jobs engine” that could help the country to hit its net zero targets. Britain could create up to 1.6 million jobs over the next ten years if it emulates the United States and the European Union with a plan for investing in renewable energy sources and other green infrastructure, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research. – The Times

US close

Stocks finished in a mixed state on Wall Street on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.28% at 31,819.14.

The S&P 500 lost 0.15% to 3,855.76, while the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 0.45% at 11,188.84.