NewRiver Share News (NRR)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The FTSE 100 hit an all-time high in early trade on Monday as it breached the 7,800 mark for the first time in its history.This came as tensions between the US and China cooled over the weekend as the two decided to "stop slapping tariffs against each other".AstraZeneca was the biggest gainer in London's blue-chip index on Monday, after it said the US Food & Drug Administration has approved Lokelma.The FTSE 100 index was up 0.6%, or 46.23 points at 7,825.02 early Monday, having hit a record high of 7,830.87 earlier in the session. The index's previous all-time high had stood at 7,792.56, a level which was reached in January of this year.The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 0.3%, or 67.67 points, at 21,057.44. The AIM All-Share index was up 0.2% at 1,090.82.The Cboe UK 100 index was up 0.6% at 13,275.02. The Cboe UK 250 was up 0.4% at 19,292.05, and the Cboe UK Small Companies up 0.2% at 12,907.27.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said the US is "putting the trade war on hold" and won't impose tariffs for now while it works on a framework for trade with China. "'On Hold' is the term driving the markets today and investors over in Europe are optimistic as trade war tensions have eased off," said ThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam."Both sides have retracted from their threatening behaviour and the US has suspended USD150 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports. Let's see if the US hopes about China buying a substantial amount of US goods become true," Aslam added.Chinese Vice Premier Liu, who travelled to the US on Tuesday for negotiations, told Chinese news outlet Xinhua that both countries had agreed to "not to engage in a trade war" and "stop slapping tariffs against each other".He said that both countries had pledged to cooperate further in a "win-win choice" that would promote the "high-quality development of the Chinese economy".Liu's comments follow a joint statement released by the White House Saturday that China would begin buying more US goods and services to reduce the US trade deficit and meet Chinese consumption needs.In Asia on Monday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.3%. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.6%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong is up 0.7%.In mainland Europe early Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.4%. Markets in Germany and Switzerland are closed for the Whit Monday holiday on Monday.In the FTSE 100, AstraZeneca was up 2.0%, the best performer, after it said the US FDA has approved Lokelma, formerly ZS-9, for the treatment of adults with hyperkalaemia.Hyperkalaemia is characterised by elevated potassium levels in the blood, associated with cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases. The FDA approval is supported by data from three double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and two open-label trials."We are pleased by today's FDA approval of Lokelma as it enables us to help address a long-standing clinical need with a new medicine that offers rapid and sustained treatment for adults with hyperkalaemia," said Sean Bohen, executive vice president, global medicines development and chief medical officer at AstraZeneca.Seperately, the blue-chip pharmaceutical firm said it has submitted a supplemental new drug application to Japan's Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices Agency for the use of Forxiga - a selective sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor - as an oral adjunct treatment to insulin in adults with type-1 diabetes.Forxiga is also under regulatory review in Europe. In the FTSE 250, NewRiver REIT was up 0.8% after it confirmed it has entered a period of exclusivity with pub company Hawthorn Leisure Holdings and its major shareholder regarding a potential acquisition of the business."A transaction, if completed, would be funded from NewRiver's existing resources. There can be no certainty that a transaction will be concluded and a further announcement, as appropriate, will be made as soon as practicable," NewRiver said.Elsewhere on the Main Market, Ryanair Holdings fell 1.7% despite reporting a strong rise in annual profit as it remained wary on its outlook for the year ahead.The budget airline reported a 10% increase in annual profit after tax to EUR1.45 billion, saying that lower fares - which were down 3% - stimulated 9% traffic growth to over 130 million passengers.Full year 2018 total operating revenue from continuing operations rose 8% year-over-year to EUR7.15 billion. Traffic grew 9% with Germany, Italy and Spain being the company's largest growth markets.However, the flight operator said its outlook for the year ahead is "on the pessimistic side of cautious". The company expects to grow traffic by 7% to 139 million, at flat load factors of 95%. Unit costs in the current year will rise 9%.In addition, Ryanair said it has "limited" first half and "zero" second half fare visibility, with forward booking strong but pricing soft."Since only half of Easter fell in April, we expect a 5% fare decline in Q1 but a 4% rise in Q2 fares. While still too early to accurately forecast close-in summer bookings or H2 fares, we are cautiously guiding broadly flat average fares for FY19," Ryanair said.To come in a thin economic events calendar on Monday there is the Chicago Fed National Activity Index at 1330 BST.