easyJet full-year profits surge, GSK meningococcal vaccine gets EC approval

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 14 points higher on Wednesday, having closed down 0.4% on Tuesday at 8,258.61.

Stocks to watch

Low-cost airline easyJet reported a surge in full-year profit and boosted its dividend on strong summer demand and a narrowing of winter losses. The company on Wednesday posted a 34% rise in pre-tax profit to £610m. The dividend was lifted to 12.1p a share from 4.5p.

GSK has received European Commission approval for a fully liquid, single-vial version of Menveo, its MenACWY vaccine for invasive meningococcal disease, it announced on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals giant said the vaccine was now licensed for use in children aged two years and older, as well as adolescents and adults. Approval was based on phase 2b trials demonstrating that the liquid formulation matches the immunogenicity, safety, and tolerability of the previous lyophilised version.

Newspaper round-up

Bookmakers and casinos will be forced to fund NHS services that tackle problem gambling, after Labour rubber-stamped the previous government’s plans, which also include a cap of as little as £2 on the sums that can be staked on online slot machines. The Guardian revealed on Monday that the government was poised to approve the new “statutory levy”, using proceeds of around £100m a year to fund research, prevention and treatment of gambling harms. – Guardian

Water companies in England are using loopholes in order to not pay people who are left for days without running water, the CEO of the regulator has said. Tens of thousands of homes across the country have been left without water for days this year as ageing pipes burst. In May, 32,500 properties in Hastings and St Leonards-on-Sea had no service after a mains pipe burst, with some homes left without running water for five days. In January, households across Reading also faced an interruption to their water supply. – Guardian

Labour is poised to water down electric vehicle (EV) rules amid a mounting crisis in the industry over the pace of the transition away from petrol and diesel cars. Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, on Tuesday night confirmed a review of the Government’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate after warnings from carmakers that the rules were putting the industry’s future at risk. – Telegraph

John Lewis has said it is “worried” about the impact of higher employment costs after Rachel Reeves’s decision to increase the National Minimum Wage. In a fresh warning to the Chancellor over measures announced in the Budget, a senior John Lewis director said inflated labour costs were weighing on the department store as it attempts to turn around its fortunes. – Telegraph

More than 1,100 jobs at the historic van-making factory of Vauxhall in Luton are at risk after parent company Stellantis announced it planned to shut the site next April. In a blow to the UK automotive industry, Stellantis said it was in consultation with unions and employees over the proposals. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed higher on Tuesday after president-elect Donald Trump vowed to slap fresh tariffs on America's biggest trading partners.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.28% at 44,860.31, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.57% to 6,021.63 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.63% firmer at 19,174.30.

The Dow closed 123.74 points higher on Tuesday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.

US president-elect Donald Trump has promised to institute new tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada from the first day of his presidency as part of an effort to stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

Trump said he would sign an executive order that would slap all goods coming from Canada and Mexico with a 25% tariff, while China will be levied with an additional 10% tariff until Beijing cracks down on the illegal export of fentanyl to the US.