(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca shares opened slightly lower in London on Wednesday after saying it had "paused" clinical trials of of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine, being developed together with Oxford University, after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.
A spokesperson for the AstraZeneca vaccine said in a statement Tuesday that "we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee.
"This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials."
The company said that in large trials, illnesses will sometimes happen by chance but must be reviewed independently.
AstraZeneca didn't offer further details, but medical news site Stat News, which first reported the volunteer's illness, quoted a source saying it had involved a "serious adverse reaction" to the vaccine.
Astra shares were down 0.9% early Wednesday, while the FTSE 100 as whole was slightly higher.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: up 0.5% at 5,962.03
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Hang Seng: down 1.1% at 24,349.47
Nikkei 225: closed down 1.0% at 23,032.54
DJIA: closed down 632.42 points, or 2.3%, at 27,500.89
S&P 500: closed down 465.44 points, or 4.1%, at 10,847.69
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GBP: down at USD1.2928 (USD1.3030)
EUR: soft at USD1.1767 (USD1.1796)
Gold: flat at USD1,926.19 per ounce (USD1,926.32)
Oil (Brent): unchanged at USD39.52 a barrel (USD39.54)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Wednesday's Key Economic Events still to come
0855 EDT US Johnson Redbook retail sales index
1000 EDT US job openings and labour turnover survey
1630 EDT US API weekly statistical bulletin
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Social gatherings of more than six people will be illegal in England from Monday as the UK government seeks to curb the rise in coronavirus cases, PA reports. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will use a press conference on Wednesday to announce the change in the law after the number of daily positive Covid-19 cases in the UK rose to almost 3,000. The legal limit on social gatherings will be reduced from 30 people to 6. It will apply to gatherings indoors and outdoors – including private homes, as well as parks, pubs and restaurants. Gatherings of more than six people will be allowed where the household or support bubble is larger than six, or where the gathering is for work or education purposes. Exemptions will also apply for weddings, funerals and Covid-secure organised team sports, with a full list to be published by the government before Monday.
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US President Donald Trump will announce further troop withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan in the next few days, a senior administration official said. The official told reporters travelling with the president to expect an announcement Wednesday on Iraq, and on Afghanistan in the coming days. During a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi in August, Trump said American troops would leave Iraq but gave no timetable. The talks between the pair came with attacks on American targets by pro-Iranian fighters on the rise and the Iraqi government facing calls to expel the roughly 5,000 US troops deployed in the country as part of anti-jihadist efforts. In Afghanistan the US currently has 8,600 soldiers in accordance with a bilateral agreement signed in February between Washington and the Taliban. The Pentagon said in August that its goal was to get down to fewer than 5,000 troops as inter-Afghan peace talks progress.
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The US is considering imposing sanctions on those involved in "human rights abuses and repression in Belarus," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. In a statement Pompeo cited the "reported abduction" of Belarusian protest leader Maria Kalesnikava along with two other activists. "The US, in coordination with our partners and Allies, is considering additional targeted sanctions to promote accountability for those involved in human rights abuses and repression in Belarus," Pompeo said.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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BERENBERG RAISES IMI PLC TO 'HOLD' ('SELL') - TARGET 995 (635) PENCE
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BERENBERG INITIATES WH SMITH WITH 'HOLD' - TARGET 1,200 PENCE
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BERENBERG INITIATES NATIONAL EXPRESS WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 190 PENCE
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LIBERUM INITIATES SHANTA GOLD WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 23 PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Moody's Investors Service changed its outlook for SSE to negative from stable, but confirmed its Baa1 issuer and senior unsecured ratings. The changed outlook reflects the electricity utility's increased financial leverage, and the risk that even after its planned GBP2 billion in disposals, group metrics will not recover to levels in line with the current rating over the next two to three years. For the year to the end of March, SSE's financial leverage has risen, with its ratio of funds from operations to net debt at 14% and retained cash flow to net debt at 7.9%, which is below Moody's guidance.
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Moody's Investors Service assigned a Baa2 rating to BAE Systems PLC's proposed new senior unsecured notes. The blue chip defence contractor and aerospace firm's long term issuer rating of Baa2 is unaffected by the potential USD2 billion issuance, Moody's noted. The ratings of BAE's subsidiaries will also remain unchanged, as will the Stable outlook. The issue will be used to refinance the acquisition bridge facility that was drawn down to finance the purchase of the Collins Aerospace Military Global Positioning System business from Raytheon Technologies.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Computacenter reported profit growth for the first half and also said it has agreed to buy Pivot Technology Solutions in Canada. Revenue for the first half of 2020 rose 1.5% to GBP2.46 billion from GBP2.43 billion year-on-year, while pretax profit grew by 43% to GBP72.4 million from GBP50.8 million. The IT services firm said significant reductions in spend from industrial customers was offset by new business within the government and financial services sector. "As previously stated, our business has performed well this year to date and proven to be flexible in these extraordinary times," said Chief Executive Mike Norris. Separately, Computacenter said it has agreed to buy Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Pivot Technology Solutions. Computacenter will pay CAD2.60 cash for each Pivot share, the deal worth CAD105.8 million - nearly USD80 million or GBP62 million - based on the firm's 40.7 million shares. Pivot is an IT solutions provider which makes around 85% of its revenue from customers in the US and the remainder from customers in Canada. "We are pleased with our progress in the US, including the acquisition of Fusionstorm in 2018. The acquisition of Pivot represents an opportunity to increase our scale, geographic footprint and capabilities in US. Additionally, Canada expands our total market opportunity and helps us meet the needs of international customers," said CEO Norris.
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Waste management firm Biffa said its full-year expectations are unchanged even though trading has been "slightly ahead" of its base case scenario. During August, revenue recovered to around 90% of prior year levels. "As a result, underlying profit contribution is also continuing to steadily improve month on month and the Group expects to cease furloughing staff at the end of September," Biffa said.
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Sanne posted profit growth and upped its interim payout. Turnover for the six months to June rose 14% to GBP86.5 million from GBP76.0 million a year ago, with pretax profit shooting up to GBP11.6 million from GBP3.8 million. The provider of alternative asset and corporate services said the business showed "good resilience" during the first half amid unprecedented conditions. "Whilst economic uncertainty remains around the medium and longer term impact of Covid-19 and the Brexit process, the business model is robust in that revenues are long term, margins are healthy and the resulting cash flow generation is strong," the company said. Signs of "market progress" have been seen during the third quarter and the pipeline of new business continues to grow, the firm added, giving Sanne confidence in delivering a full-year outturn in line with its expectations. Sanne declared an interim dividend of 4.8 pence, up 2.1% on the 4.7p payout a year ago.
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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
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Kosmos Energy said it has entered an agreement with a Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary to farm down a portfolio of exploration assets for up to USD200 million. Shell will acquire Kosmos's participating interest in blocks offshore Sao Tome & Principe, Suriname, Namibia and South Africa. The consideration consists of an upfront cash payment of USD100 million, plus contingent payments of USD50 million payable upon each commercial discovery from the first four exploration wells drilled across the assets, capped at USD100 million in total. Three of the four wells are currently planned for 2021.
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Wednesday's Shareholder Meetings
PetroTal - GM re share consolidation
Mobeus Income & Growth 2 VCT
Bermele
AEW UK REIT
Chelverton UK Dividend Trust
Walker Crips Group
PV Crystalox Solar - GM re tender offer
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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