Sainsbury's full-year sales rise, US CDC recommends two GSK vaccines
By Josh White
Date: Thursday 17 Apr 2025
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 22 points lower on Thursday, having closed up 0.32% on Wednesday at 8,275.60.
Stocks to watch
Sainsbury's reported a 4.2% rise in full-year sales excluding fuel on Thursday, to £26.6bn, with strong growth in its core grocery business and improved online performance, although Argos sales declined 2.7%. The FTSE 100 grocery giant said retail underlying operating profit rose 7.2% to £1.04bn, while statutory profit after tax surged 77% to £242m, despite significant restructuring charges. It said it had completed a £200m share buyback, and announced plans for at least another £200m in 2025-2026, alongside a £250m special dividend funded by bank disposal proceeds.
GSK announced on Thursday that the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in the US has recommended its newly-approved Penmenvy vaccine as an alternative for adolescents needing protection against meningococcal serogroups A, B, C, W, and Y, potentially simplifying dosing and improving coverage. Penmenvy, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in February, combines components of GSK's existing Bexsero and Menveo vaccines into a single dose for individuals aged 10 to 25. Separately, ACIP also voted to recommend GSK's Arexvy RSV vaccine for adults aged 50 to 59 at increased risk, expanding its previous guidance and addressing a population estimated to experience 42,000 RSV-related hospitalisations annually in the US.
Newspaper round-up
Ministers are having an "active conversation" with UK pharmaceutical firms about the potential impact of US tariffs, amid calls for an emergency taskforce to make sure the supply of medicines is not disrupted. The UK government has been trying to head off the threat of tariffs to the pharmaceuticals industry, which exports about £7bn of goods to the US - just behind the £8.3bn of car exports. - Guardian
Bialetti, the Italian manufacturer of the famed stove-top moka coffee pot, has struck a deal to sell the business to an investment vehicle owned by a Chinese tycoon. Founded in 1933 by Alfonso Bialetti, an engineer who produced the first coffee pots from his workshop in Crusinallo, Piedmont, the company is being bought by Luxembourg-registered NUO Capital, which will pay €53m (£46m) for 78.6% of its shares. - Guardian
Baby boomers are being urged to work later in life after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared that "70s are the new 50s". The world's lender-of-last-resort has said that older people today are far sharper and stronger than they were 25 years ago, meaning they should stay in employment for longer. It released its findings after data from 41 countries revealed remarkable leaps in healthy life spans. - Telegraph
The US private equity firm which failed in a takeover of The Telegraph in partnership with Abu Dhabi is making a new attempt with alternative funding. RedBird Capital has been approaching potential investors to help it acquire the company from RedBird IMI, the fund which was blocked from ownership last year. - Telegraph
The head of the Federal Reserve warned that President Trump's tariffs would put at risk the targets of keeping inflation and unemployment under control. Jerome Powell, chairman of America's central bank, said the effects of the administration's significant policy changes, particularly around trade, "are likely to move us away from" the Fed's goals, which include a "dual mandate" to ensure maximum employment and stable prices. - The Times
US close
US stocks fell sharply on Wednesday on the back of bearish comments from the head of the Federal Reserve and renewed trade concerns weighing on the chip sector.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said in a speech at the Economic Club of Chicago that policymakers would need to "wait for greater clarity" before making any further moves on interest rates, saying that the central bank was in a "challenging scenario".
Powell said that, with Trump's tariff plans set to spur "higher inflation and slower growth", the Fed's dual-mandate goals "are in tension".
Equity markets, which had traded slightly lower for most of the morning session, extended losses after the comments, sending the Dow down 1.7%, the S&P 500 down 2.2% and the Nasdaq dropping 3.1%. The VIX volatility index jumped 8.4%.
Gold prices, meanwhile, reached a new record, with futures surging 3.5% to $3,352.90 an ounce, while WTI crude rose 2.2% to $62.66 a barrel.
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