Morrisons, AstraZeneca and Standard Life

“Blue-chips opened cautiously higher despite Wall Street’s overnight fall and mixed turns on Asian indices with traders looking ahead to a raft of UK, European and US macro data,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

Supermarket giant Morrisons will be able to compete more aggressively in the burgeoning home delivery sector following a new deal with online grocer Ocado. Morrisons has renegotiated components of the original contract lifting the restriction on store pick, cancelling the profit share agreement reducing the research and development fee. The new agreement, which builds on the success of the original Morrisons/Ocado deal, found favour with investors as Morrisons shares rose by 1.6% in early trading.

AstraZeneca’s shares were down after trials of its experimental drug Selumetinib failed to help lung cancer patients live longer or prevent the disease from worsening.  AstraZeneca acquired exclusive worldwide rights to Selumetinib from Array BioPharma on 2003. The drug is also being explored as a treatment option in registration-enabling studies in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer and patients with a genetic disorder that causes tumours to grow along nerve tissue.

Standard Life beat forecasts with assets under administration boosted by the fall in sterling following Brexit. Standard Life is benefiting from its strong long-term relationships with a broad range of clients and customers who reacted in different ways to the changing market environment.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.