Glaxosmithkline Share News (GSK)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Stocks ended the week on a high as UK Prime Minster Theresa May's speech on Brexit caused the pound to tumble Friday afternoon, in turn, driving the FTSE 100 upwards."We are witnessing familiar Brexit reaction in market terms, as a cliff-dive for the pound is matched by a leap higher for the FTSE 100 as the prime minister talks tough after her humiliation in Salzburg," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG. Beauchamp added: "Many Britons watching her will be able to sympathise, since no one likes being made to look foolish, but the hardening of rhetoric has just made a 'no deal' more likely, and this is why we're seeing sterling so heavily sold. Given the steady losses in GBP/USD since April, today's move could mark the resumption of the downtrend." "And for once the FTSE 100 is the star performer among the indices, although given that we are seeing bullish momentum fade slightly after a very healthy week this bounce may be short-lived."The pound was quoted at USD1.307 at the London equities close Friday, sharply lower from USD1.3187 at midday and USD1.3265 at the close on Thursday. The FTSE 100 index finished higher to close 1.7% up, or 122.91 points, at 7,490.23. The FTSE 250 ended up 0.2%, or 39.10 points, at 20,590.36, and the AIM All-Share closed 0.5% higher, or 5.00 points, at 1,099.89.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 1.5% at 12,684.80, the Cboe 250 closed up 0.1% at 18,682.27, and the Cboe Small Companies ended 0.2% higher at 12,218.21.Theresa May called on the EU to come forward with fresh proposals on Northern Ireland and trade, warning that without a move from Brussels it will not be possible to make further progress in Brexit talks.Speaking in 10 Downing Street - a day after the humiliating rejection of her Brexit plans at the EU summit in Salzburg - the prime minister said that Brexit negotiations had reached an "impasse".But she dismissed EU suggestions that the onus is on Britain to shift its stance, insisting that the ball is now in the EU's court.May said she was ready to come forward with new ideas on unblocking the disagreement over future arrangements at the Irish border.But, in apparent reference to European Council President Donald Tusk's assertion that her Chequers plan "will not work", she said "At this late stage in the negotiations, it is not acceptable to simply reject the other side's proposals without a detailed explanation and new proposals.""So we now need to hear from the EU what the real issues are and what their proposals are so we can discuss them. Until we do, we can't make progress," May said.May added: "No-one wants a good deal more than me, but the EU should be clear - I will not overturn the result of the referendum, nor will I break up my country.""We need serious engagement on resolving the two big problems in the negotiations and we stand ready," May said.A ruling from Scotland's highest court will see the European Court be asked if the UK can unilaterally revoke its Article 50 request to leave the EU.In what campaigners described as a "case that could decide the fate of the nation", the Court of Session in Edinburgh announced it would refer the question on to the Court of Justice of the EU.As a result of the "urgency of the issue", with the UK due to leave the EU on March 29, it said the request was being expedited procedure.The decision from Lord Carloway, Scotland's most senior judge and Lord President of the Court of Session, overturns a ruling in June when it was said the question being asked was "hypothetical" and the conditions for a reference had not been met.But Lord Carloway said it was "clear" MPs at Westminster would be required to vote on any Brexit deal agreed by the EU and the UK Government.He stated: "It seems neither academic nor premature to ask whether it is legally competent to revoke the notification and thus to remain in the EU. The matter is uncertain in that it is the subject of a dispute; as this litigation perhaps demonstrates."The answer will have the effect of clarifying the options open to MPs in the lead up to what is now an inevitable vote."Brent oil was quoted lower at USD78.66 a barrel at the equities close from USD78.86 at the same time the prior day. Gold was quoted at USD1,196.80 an ounce at the London equities close against USD1,204.01 on Thursday.On the London Stock Exchange, blue chip miners were big risers as the US China trade war appeared to slow down during the week.Antofagasta closed up 4.4%, Glencore finished 4.7% higher, BHP Billiton closed up 3.7%, Anglo American closed up 3.9% and Rio Tino closed up 2.7%.Royal Dutch Shell A shares gained 2.2% after Bloomberg News reported the oil giant is in talks to sell its interest in a Gulf of Mexico oilfield to Focus Oil Co, which could fetch up to USD1.3 billion. Shell's B shares were up 2.5%.GlaxoSmithKline closed up 3.1% after it received a positive opinion on broadening the use of its Trelegy Ellipta inhaler in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.This opinion comes from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, and would see the labelling for the drug modified to encompass a broader group of patients with moderate to severe forms of the disease.At the other end of the FTSE 100, food firm Just Eat finished as the worst performer, down 4.8%.Brokers said the acquisition talks between Uber and Roofoods, better known as Deliveroo, represented a potential threat to Just Eat.Peel Hunt stated the deal could be "a shift in the paradigm of the cooked food delivery market in the UK", and could particularly place a lot of pressure on Just Eat.Not far behind was Smiths Group, finishing 4.4% lower.The engineering group reported a decline in pretax profit for the year to the end of July to GBP435 million, from GBP601 million reported the year earlier.Revenue slipped by 2.0% to GBP3.21 billion from GBP3.28 billion.Revenue suffered from unfavourable currency translation rates, with underlying revenue, which excludes the effects of foreign exchange, acquisitions and supplemental sales for divested businesses, up 2% year-on-year.In the FTSE 250, SIG closed up 1.1%, after being down 1.7% at midday. The building products company posted pretax profit of GBP19.9 million for the six months to the end of June, compared to a GBP15.8 million loss a year prior.The absence of a GBP50.2 million loss from the sale and closure of non-core businesses and other items related to the disposal of property in the first half of 2017 explained the increase.However, revenue slipped to GBP1.38 billion from GBP1.43 billion a year ago on difficult UK trading due to poor weather and political uncertainty.In economic news, the UK budget deficit increased in August on higher expenditure amid subdued income growth, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.Public sector net borrowing, excluding public sector banks, rose by GBP2.4 billion from last year to GBP6.8 billion in August. Borrowing was expected to fall to GBP3.4 billion.This was the largest August borrowing for two years and the first annual increase for August in three years.At the end of August, public sector net debt excluding public sector banks totaled GBP1.78 trillion or 84.3% of gross domestic product. Debt increased by GBP15.9 billion from a year ago.In Paris the CAC 40 was up 0.8%, while the DAX 30 in Frankfurt was up 0.9%. The euro stood at USD1.1744 at the European equities close, against USD1.1760 the prior day.The Eurozone private sector grew at the second-weakest pace since late-2016 as manufacturing growth was subdued by stagnating export orders, flash survey data from IHS Markit showed.The composite output index fell to 54.2 in September, while the score was forecast to remain unchanged at 54.5. Although the reading was well above the 50.0 no-change level, it was the lowest since November 2016 with the exception of last May.The slowdown was driven by weaker growth in the manufacturing sector as export orders failed to grow for the first time since June 2013. Meanwhile, the service sector output growth picked up momentum for a second successive month to reach a three-month high.The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to a 24-month low of 53.3 from 54.6 a month ago. The score was expected to fall slightly to 54.5.Meanwhile, the services PMI rose to a three-month high of 54.7 in September. The indicator was expected to remain at 54.4.Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said, "A near stagnation of exports contributed to one of the worst months for the Eurozone economy for almost two years.""Trade wars, Brexit, waning global demand, notably in the auto industry, growing risk aversion, destocking and rising political uncertainty both within the Eurozone and further afield all fueled the slowdown in business activity," Williamson added.Stocks in New York were mixed at the London equities close. The DJIA was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 index up 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.2%.China has warned the US will "bear the consequences" if it does not withdraw punishing financial sanctions it imposed on a key Chinese military organization for buying Russian fighter jets and missiles.The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the sanctions, which were imposed over Beijing's purchase of Russian military jets and surface-to-air missiles, "seriously damaged" relations between US and China and their militaries."We strongly urge the US to immediately correct the mistakes and revoke the so-called sanctions; otherwise the US must bear the consequences," ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.Elsewhere, S&P Global Ratings affirmed the sovereign ratings of China with 'stable' outlook.The 'A+' credit rating reflects S&P's assessment of the government's reform agenda, growth prospects, and strong external metrics.The economic calendar on Monday has UK CBI Industry trends survey at 0930 BST. The Shanghai, Tokyo and Johannesburg stock exchanges are closed.The UK corporate calendar has full year results from River & Mercantile and half year results from XLMedia, Gamma Aviation with a trading statement from Pennon Group.