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(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are pointed lower following news that Gilead Sciences Inc's possible Covid-19 treatment remdesivir failed its first clinical trial.
IG says futures indicate the FTSE 100 index of large-caps to open 98.11 points lower at 5,728.50 on Friday. The FTSE 100 closed up 55.98 points, or 1.0%, at 5,826.61 on Thursday.
In early corporate news in London, Persimmon will resume construction on Monday, Pearson trades in line, and Burberry repurposes coat factory to protective masks.
Markets received a boost last Friday after leaked footage of a video discussion among faculty members of the University of Chicago discussing remdesivir, saying it was producing rapid recoveries in Covid-19 patients.
Then late Thursday, inadvertently released trial results showed the experimental coronavirus treatment failed in its first randomized clinical trial.
A draft summary went online briefly on the website of the World Health Organization and was first reported by the Financial Times and Stat, which posted a screenshot.
But Gilead Sciences disputed how the now-deleted post had characterised the findings, saying the data showed a "potential benefit".
A spokesman for Gilead told AFP: "We believe the post included inappropriate characterisations of the study," saying it was terminated early due to low enrolment and was therefore not statistically meaningful.
"As such, the study results are inconclusive, though trends in the data suggest a potential benefit for remdesivir, particularly among patients treated early in disease," the spokesman added.
Remdesivir, which is administered intravenously, was among the first drugs suggested as a treatment for the novel coronavirus and as such had great hopes riding on it.
In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.9%. In China, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.9%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is down 0.6%.
In London, housebuilder Persimmon said it will begin a phased re-opening of its construction sites, starting Monday. The move follows similar announcements on Thursday by peers Taylor Wimpey and Vistry.
Persimmon noted it has developed and tested a range of new site protocols to enable work to recommence.
Chief Executive David Jenkinson said: "The UK government has been very clear on the importance of the construction sector to the UK economy and its desire to see activity continue through the current period of crisis, provided appropriate public health measures are adopted."
The housebuilder also said it has achieved about 820 gross private sales in the five weeks to April 19, as its sales staff continues to work from home.
Cancellation rates remain at historically low levels, Persimmon added.
Luxury fashion designer Burberry said its trench coat factory in Castleford, West Yorkshire is now manufacturing non-surgical gowns and supplying them to the UK National Health Service.
The company also is sourcing surgical masks through its supply chain and supplying them to the NHS and charities such as Marie Curie, Burberry said.
To date, Burberry has donated more than 100,000 pieces of personal protection equipment.
Pearson said its trading in the first quarter was in line with its revised expectations, with revenue falling 5% year on year in the period.
Pearson blamed Covid-19 for the slip, and noted if social distancing is prolonged significantly, its North American and International Courseware businesses will see a "more pronounced effect" as campuses and schools remain closed for longer.
In the recent quarter, Global Assessment revenue declined 3%, International revenue by 10%, and North American Courseware revenue by 10%. The lone bright spot was Global Online Learning, where revenue grew 6%.
At the end of the quarter, Pearson had "significant" financial headroom, with immediately available liquidity of about GBP800 million.
Pearson had previously proposed a final dividend for 2019 of 13.5p, which shareholders will vote on at Friday's AGM.
Blue-chip pharma giant AstraZeneca said its Lynparza treatment produced positive results in its Phase III PROfound trial - which is focused on men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Astra, which develops the drug with MSD, said the trial showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in the key secondary endpoint of overall survival.
In the US on Thursday, Wall Street ended mixed, as with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending up 0.2%, the S&P 500 down 0.1% and Nasdaq Composite flat.
The US House of Representatives passed a new USD483 billion economic stimulus bill Thursday as US job losses due to the coronavirus soared and businesses clamoured for more support.
In scenes never witnessed in the tradition-bound US Congress, lawmakers covered their faces with masks and voted in small groups as the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a USD483 billion stimulus plan.
The money will back small businesses on the brink of bankruptcy, and hard-pressed hospitals.
It comes on top of USD2.2 trillion package enacted in late March. The House voted hours after data that another 4.4 million US workers had filed claims for jobless benefits, bringing the total to 26.4 million since the pandemic intensified.
The world's largest economy has been hit by about 50,000 deaths, more than any other country, and saw one of its deadliest days with 3,176 new fatalities in 24 hours.
Sterling was quoted at USD1.2343 early Friday, softer than USD1.2391 at the London equities close on Thursday.
The euro trading at USD1.0767, down from USD1.0835 late Thursday.
Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JPY107.65, versus JPY107.60.
EU leaders on Thursday tasked the European Commission with developing a proposal for a recovery fund to deal with a looming recession.
The EU executive's president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the fund will be rooted in the next EU long-term budget, and be paid out to member states in a "sound balance between grants and loans".
The bulk of the funds will be spent on member state reforms and cohesion, while a smaller amount will be spent on beefing up EU crisis tools, von der Leyen said.
The proposal should be ready by mid-May, she added. The EU summit deal on post-virus recovery aid plans represents "great progress, unthinkable until a few weeks ago," Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.
Brent oil was trading at USD22.20 a barrel early Friday, down from USD22.78 late Thursday - having dipped as low as USD15.97 this week, its worst level since 1999.
Gold was quoted at USD1,723.50 an ounce early Friday, lower than USD1,737.15 on Thursday.
The economic events calendar on Friday has US durable goods data at 1330 BST.
By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com
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