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Astrazeneca's Imfinzi receives EU recommendation, DiscoverIE Q3 sales rise
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 02 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 86.1 points lower ahead of the bell on Monday, after wrapping up the previous session 0.51% higher at 10,223.54.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Monday that its gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer treatment, Imfinzi, has been recommended for approval in the European Union by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use. If approved, Astrazeneca said Imfinzi, used in conjunction with standard-of-care FLOT chemotherapy, regimen would mark the first immunotherapy-based perioperative therapy available to patients in this setting in the EU.
Customised electronics manufacturer DiscoverIE said on Monday that group sales had risen in the three months ended 31 December, driven by a 9% jump in group orders, as its controls operating unit, which had been slower to recover than the other three operating units, showed "an improved trend in sales" from the first half.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Struggling hotels, restaurants and nightclubs are calling for more financial help with business rates after it emerged that Heathrow is among the biggest beneficiaries of a multibillion-pound package of state support. The UK's biggest airport is in line for a discount of nearly £900m on its rates bill over the next three years. That is a fifth of the total £4.3bn "transitional relief" fund announced by the chancellor in the budget for all businesses facing big bill increases. - Guardian
Tim Martin, Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Erling Haaland and Mo Salah are among the UK's 100 biggest taxpayers, according to new rankings. The billionaire brothers behind the gambling firm Betfred topped the Sunday Times 2026 tax List. Fred and Peter Done paid £400.1m in tax, about half of which relates to gambling duty from their betting shop empire. - Guardian
Britain is on track to become the biggest spender on benefits in the G7, as Sir Keir Starmer delays welfare reforms amid fears of a looming leadership challenge. Analysis by The Telegraph of Office for Budget Responsibility figures shows that the UK is on track to spend 2.2% of GDP on incapacity and disability benefits towards the end of the decade. - Telegraph
Rachel Reeves's Budget tax rises will drag on growth for at least a year, economists have warned. The UK economy is expected to grow modestly by 0.9% in 2026, according to new forecasts from the EY Item Club. While this represents a marginal upgrade from the 0.8% growth forecast in November, experts warned that Labour's decisions to increase taxes and cut public spending were partly to blame for the economic stagnation. - Telegraph
The administrators of NMC Health, the collapsed former FTSE 100 company, have reached a settlement with the firm's previous auditor EY in its £2bn High Court claim. In a surprise twist in the multi-year legal battle, Alvarez & Marsal and the big four audit firm have come to a confidential agreement. - The Times
Thames Water is closing in on a £16bn rescue deal with its lenders in a move that would spare Britain's largest water company from temporary public ownership. A group of creditors holding £13bn of Thames Water's debt is understood to be close to signing an in-principle agreement with the UK company and Ofwat, the industry regulator. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices were in the red at the close of trading on Friday after Donald Trump announced his nominee for head of the Federal Reserve and December's PPI report showed wholesale inflation rising sharply at end of 2025.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.36% at 48,892.47, while the S&P 500 shed 0.43% to 6,939.03 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.94% weaker at 23,461.82.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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