Wizz Air passenger numbers rise, Dechra agrees deal to take it private

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 31 points higher, having closed up 0.5% on Thursday at 7,490.27.

Stocks to watch

Budget airline Wizz Air reported a sharp rise in passenger numbers in May as the recovery in travel after Covid pandemic restrictions continued. The Hungary-based airline carried 5,026,575 passengers, up 22.1% year on year, at a load factor of 90.2%compared with 84.2% in May 2022.

Dechra Pharmaceuticals said on Friday that it has agreed to be taken over in a £4.46bn deal. The veterinary medicine firm said it had accepted an all-cash offer of 3,875p per share from Swedish private equity firm EQT and Luxinva, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). The offer, made through the two firms’ Freya bidco, represents a 44% premium to the closing share price on 12 April, when the offer period started, and a 15% premium to Thursday’s closing price.

Newspaper round-up

More than 20,000 rail workers in England have begun a 24-hour strike that will cancel half of services on affected lines as part of a long-running dispute with train operators over jobs, pay and conditions. The stoppage by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) – the second of three by rail unions to hit the network this week – will affect most operators in England and some cross-border services into Scotland and Wales. – Guardian

Elon Musk is being accused of insider trading in a proposed class action lawsuit by investors. They say the Tesla CEO manipulated the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, costing them billions of dollars. In a Wednesday night filing in Manhattan federal court, investors said Musk used Twitter posts, paid online influencers, his 2021 appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and other “publicity stunts” to trade profitably at their expense through several Dogecoin wallets that he or Tesla controls. – Guardian

Apple has denied allegations that it helped US authorities spy on Russian iPhone users. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on Thursday claimed it uncovered a US National Security Agency (NSA) operation which hacked several thousand iPhones using sophisticated surveillance software. The US intelligence agency was allegedly able to use specifically-designed “software vulnerabilities” to infect Apple’s phones with previously unknown malware, according to Russia’s foreign ministry. – Telegraph

Activity in mergers and acquisitions in Britain is at its lowest level in seven years as dealmakers remain cautious about the economic outlook. The total value of mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies has more than halved to $89 billion in the first five months of the year and the number of deals announced has dropped by 29 per cent, according to the deals intelligence team at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). – The Times

Boeing is bracing itself for another 18 months of instability in its supply chain as it moves to increase production. Dave Calhoun, the group’s chief executive, acknowledged that it had suffered because of failures and shortfalls across its “very large, very fragmented” base of suppliers. – The Times

US close

Wall Street’s equity markets ended on a high note on Thursday, with both the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 closing at their highest points in more than nine months.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.47% at 33,061.57, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.99% to end the day at 4,221.02.

The tech-focussed Nasdaq Composite was ahead 1.28% by the closing bell, finishing at 13,100.98.

Upbeat sentiment was put down to a combination of encouraging economic data, as well as progress on Capitol Hill over raising the federal debt ceiling.

In currency markets, the dollar was slightly weaker against its European counterparts, slipping 0.03% on sterling to trade at 79.81p, and losing 0.01% against the common currency to 92.91 euro cents.