Dunelm trading ahead of expectations, AstraZeneca upbeat on Imfinzi and Farxiga
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 33 points higher on Tuesday, having closed down 0.61% on Friday at 5,963.57, before the long weekend.
Stocks to watch
Dunelm said trading was well ahead of its expectations in the past two months helped by demand that built up during the Covid-19 lockdown. The homewares retailer said total sales surged 59% in July from a year earlier partly from pent-up demand from store closures and the timing of its summer sale. Sales rose 24% in August. Dunelm said there was too much uncertainty about the economy and the potential impact of renewed lockdowns to give meaningful guidance on the outlook.
AstraZeneca announced on Tuesday that its ‘Imfinzi’, or durvalumab, has been approved in the European Union for the first-line treatment of adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, in combination with a choice of chemotherapies, etoposide plus either carboplatin or cisplatin. The FTSE 100 drugmaker also said that results from the phase 3 ‘DAPA-CKD’ trial showed that ‘Farxiga’, or dapagliflozin, on top of standard of care reduced the worsening of renal function or risk of cardiovascular or renal death by 39% compared to placebo in patients with chronic kidney disease stages two to four, and elevated urinary albumin excretion.
Newspaper round-up
Nearly one in four home purchases this year will be backed by the “bank of mum and dad” – up from fewer than one in five in 2019 – as buyers struggle with the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis. Financial help provided by the bank of mum and dad, encompassing parents, grandparents, other family and friends, will be a driving force behind the recovery of Britain’s housing market. Those able to assist will lend an average of £20,000 towards a deposit on a home, said researchers from insurer Legal & General (L&G) and economics consultancy Cebr. – Guardian
National Grid has warned the energy regulator to rethink its plans to crack down on energy network companies as the industry prepares to mount an unprecedented rebellion against Ofgem’s proposals this week. Energy network companies, including National Grid, are expected to fiercely oppose the regulator’s plans to halve the returns they make on investing in energy infrastructure in an industry consultation that closes on Friday. - Guardian
Private taxi firm Addison Lee has started laying staff off after the coronavirus downturn forced it to speed up a bid to slash costs. The firm could axe as much as 10pc of its workforce to save money, an industry source said. Its premium chauffeur service Tristar is understood to have already sacked around 400 people. – Telegraph
One of Britain’s biggest airport baggage handlers has warned that thousands of jobs still hang in the balance, despite clinching a €1.9 billion rescue deal that ensures its survival. Creditors including Barclays are set to take control of Swissport as part of a debt-for-equity swap that the airport services business said would carry it through the storm in global aviation. – The Times
The chief executive of Veolia has sought to downplay fears of British job cuts after the giant waste, water and energy group bid to take over its French rival. Antoine Frérot was speaking after revealing an initial €2.9 billion offer to buy a 29.9 per cent stake in Suez, which, if successful, would be followed by a move to acquire the rest of the shares to create what he called a “world leader of ecological transition”. – The Times
US close
Equities closed in a mixed state on Wall Street on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.78% at 28,430.05.
The S&P 500 was also in the red, losing 0.22% to 3,500.31, while the Nasdaq Composite managed gains of 0.68% to 11,775.46.