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Renishaw lifts FY guidance for second time, GSK's Blenrep receives approval from China's National Medical Products Administration
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 20 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 34.9 points lower ahead of the bell on Monday, after wrapping up the previous session 0.73% stronger at 10,667.63.
STOCKS TO WATCH
British engineering firm Renishaw lifted earnings and revenue guidance for the second time in three months on the back of "particularly strong" demand from the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing equipment, and defence & aerospace sectors. Renishaw said on Monday that it now expects annual revenues of £775m to £805m and adjusted pre-tax profits of £145m to £165m compared with upgraded guidance of £740m-780m and £132m-157m given in February.
Fintech group Plus500 lifted its full-year profit outlook following a "strong" first-quarter performance. Plus500 now expects FY 2026 revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be ahead of current market expectations of $779.3 and $360.4m, respectively.
Drugmaker GSK said on Monday that its relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma treatment Blenrep had received approval from China's National Medical Products Administration, making it the only anti-BCMA cleared for use in the country. GSK said Blenrep's Chinese approval followed a priority review of its application and Breakthrough Therapy Designation for its combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone based on the potential to provide "substantial improvement" over available therapies.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
A quarter of a million people could lose their jobs by the middle of next year as Britain "flirts with recession", analysis suggests, after business confidence was shattered by the US-Israel war on Iran. As the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, summoned bank chiefs for talks aimed at containing the fallout, twin reports from top accounting firms underlined the scale of the economic threat facing the UK. - Guardian
Ed Miliband will double down on Labour's commitment to net zero in the face of the Middle East conflict this week, insisting that as fossil fuel prices soar "the era of clean energy security must come of age". The energy secretary is set to announce a package of new policies in a speech on Tuesday in response to an expected energy crisis prompted by Donald Trump's war with Iran. - Guardian
A giant new natural gas field in Yorkshire is to be exploited for mining Bitcoin rather than boosting Britain's energy supplies. Reabold Resources has been awarded a licence to carry out "gentle" fracking in the West Newton field near Hull, which is estimated to contain up to eight billion cubic metres of gas. - Telegraph
Jeff Bezos's space business Blue Origin has successfully reused one of its heavy rockets for the first time, taking a major leap towards catching up with Elon Musk's SpaceX. The Amazon billionaire's New Glenn rocket took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Sunday afternoon, carrying a satellite into orbit. - Telegraph
Ministers are pressing Britain's biggest businesses to boost their cyber-defences amid fears that artificial intelligence software such as Anthropic's Mythos could enable a new wave of hacking. Baroness Lloyd of Effra, the cybersecurity minister, has written to almost 200 business leaders, urging them to embrace a new "cyber-resilience pledge" to shore up their security. - The Times
The former boss of the UK's competition regulator has accused the government of "holding the economy back" by prioritising American technology giants' interests, which he claimed resulted in "economic dependency" and stifled British competitors. Marcus Bokkerink, former chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority, attacked the government over a series of moves that he alleged had dismantled "everything that protects and encourages competition, choice and innovation in the country's digital and AI economy". - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed higher on Friday after Tehran said the Strait of Hormuz was "completely open" following a ceasefire announcement between Israel and Lebanon.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.79% at 49,447.43, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.20% to 7,126.06 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.52% firmer at 24,468.48.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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