8.15am: FTSE 100 opens lower, GSK biggest faller
The FTSE 100 has opened 37 points lower at 10,336, with miners, software and defence companies a drag.
GSK is the leading faller, though, down 3% as investors don’t seem to like the sound of it spending £8 billion on a US acquisition.
AstraZeneca is down 1.7% too.
Sage, RELX, Experian, Glencore, Babcock, Antofagasta, Frensillo are all down around 1% or more.
8am: Fever-Tree extends share buyback
Fevertree Drinks announced a £30 million buyback extension after saying trading has started positively in 2026.
The premium mixer maker said it remained on track to deliver adjusted revenue and EBITDA in line with market forecasts.
Chief executive Tim Warrillow said: “Notwithstanding the current uncertainty in the geopolitical backdrop, we are well hedged from a cost perspective and remain confident in achieving market expectations for both adjusted revenue and EBITDA.”
7.52am: Bellway says sales softer but profits on track
Bellway has warned of a further slowdown in customer demand and renewed pressure on building material costs, but insisted that it remains on track to meet full-year profit guidance.
The housebuilder said trading improved at the start of the spring selling season compared with last autumn, but demand softened in April and May following a rise in mortgage rates.
Private reservations fell 6.2% to 151 per week in the period from 1 February to 29 May, down from the 0.66 rate detailed at its interims in March.
The overall reservation rate, including social housing, declined 5.1% to 186 per week. The cancellation rate remained low at 10%.
7.46am: UK retail sales rebound
UK retail sales last month were up 3.7% on last year, up from a 3.0% drop in April and March-April combo of 1.5% growth to account for a later Easter, according to the retail sales monitor from the BRC and KPMG.
Like-for-like sales rose 3.4%. Food sales increased 3.9% after decreasing 2.5% in April. Non-food sales were up 3.5%, against a decline of 3.3% in April.
“May’s heatwave drove a surge in outdoor and summer goods,” says Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive.
“Clothing and footwear returned to growth as shoppers snapped up summer essentials like sandals and sunglasses. There was also roaring trade in fans, lighter bedding, and outdoor toys, and food sales were lifted by bank holiday barbecues. As temperatures rose, many opted to shop online to avoid the heat, boosting online sales.”
KPMG’s Linda Ellett adds that some areas of clothing and footwear grew for the first time since the January sales.
Sarah Bradbury at IGD adds that “the outlook beyond summer is more uncertain due to rises in the energy price cap from July and the risk of further increases later in the year, alongside effects of the Middle East conflict expected to drive up food inflation, both risking a downturn in shopper confidence.”
7.34am: GSK agrees £8bn oncology acquisition
GSK’s new CEO Luke Miels has not wasted any time in setting out his stall as a dealmaker, with a deal struck to snap up US biotechnology company Nuvalent for £8 billion ($10.6 billion), adding “immediate” new sales growth opportunities, as well as a trio of advanced lung cancer drugs and other assets to boost its oncology pipeline.
The FTSE 100 pharma group said the deal would contribute to revenue growth from 2027 and be accretive to core operating profit in 2027 and core earnings per share in 2029, including synergies and reprioritisation.
Miels, who was promoted to CEO in January, said the acquisition “is a multi-product deal, consistent with our approach to acquire assets that have clinically proven targets and meaningfully address an efficacy and/or tolerability gap”.
FTSE 100 pre-market open
Investors are not sure what to expect for London’s blue-chips on Tuesday, though there should be a boost from a further easing in the oil price after Iran and Israel agreed to stop shooting at each other for now.
FTSE 100 futures are essentially flat, down less than three points, after yesterday the UK benchmark extended its winning run to a third day, though with a gain of only five points to 10,373.20.
Overnight, Wall Street stocks clawed back some ground from big losses on Friday, powered by the tech sector as the Nasdaq climbed 0.9%, the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, but the Dow Jones slipped 0.2%.
Brent crude oil is down 1.3% to just over $93 a barrel this morning, while Asian stocks are mostly higher, led by Korea’s KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei, up 7.6% and 2% respectively. Chinese and Hong Kong benchmarks are just above flat.
OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO overnight, with the ChatGPT developer reported to be looking at a potential listing in the autumn. Following upcoming floats from SpaceX and Anthropic.
“The major question yesterday,” says market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote, “was whether the tech rout that started on Friday, on the back of stronger-than-expected US jobs data and a few other reports suggesting that new technologies could reduce the need for DRAM memory while AI safeguards could slow adoption, would mark the beginning of a deeper – and much-needed – correction, or just a blip.
“The early answer is: it could be another blip.”
But she notes that the latest energy market data warns that global oil reserves have now dropped to operational stress levels.
“Pricing across energy and risk markets is largely ignoring the energy crisis. The risk is that the rally stops when there is no more fuel.”
