JD Sports to expand into Mexico, Astrazeneca secures EU approvals
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 21 Sep 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 36.2 points higher ahead of the opening bell on Monday, after wrapping up the previous session 1.45% lower at 10,659.13.
STOCKS TO WATCH
JD Sports Fashion will break into the Mexican market, the British retailer announced on Monday, after striking a deal with Grupo Axo. The multi-brand retail distributor will operate more than 140 JD stores and e-commerce in the country under the franchise partnership, which was due to commence in 2027. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Drugmaker Astrazeneca received a double boost on Monday as European regulators issued positive opinions for two of its medicines - Klygefa for generalised myasthenia gravis and Enhertu for early‑stage HER2‑positive breast cancer. Astrazeneca said the EU's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use had backed Klygefa (gefurulimab) for adults with AChR‑positive gMG as an add‑on treatment and highlighted that, if approved, it would be the first dual‑binding nanobody C5 inhibitor available in Europe. Astrazeneca and Daiichi Sankyo also secured a CHMP recommendation for Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) as an adjuvant option for adults with HER2‑positive breast cancer who still have invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
Meta has launched a fresh legal challenge against Britain's media regulator in the latest of a slew of actions by social media companies who are accused of using the courts to slow down implementation of the Online Safety Act. Lawyers for the parent company of Facebook served notice during the week in an appeal against placing WhatsApp and Instagram, which are also owned by Meta, in a category that subjects them to additional duties. - The Guardian
Labour is considering raising capital gains tax to fund a £20bn handout for the lowest earners. The Prime Minister and Chancellor are understood to be reviewing proposals to raise CGT to as high as 45% to increase the income tax personal allowance. The idea is laid out in a Budget submission from the Labour donor Dale Vince, warning that wealth is being "taxed more lightly than work". - The Telegraph
The head of a mining company hoping to supply the EU with rare earths in two years' time has said it is "paramount" to end China's stranglehold on the supply of the raw materials used in everything from cars to wind turbines and military jets. As Donald Trump and China's president, Xi Jinping, prepare to meet on Thursday in their second summit of the year, Rafael Moreno said it was also "imperative" that they do a deal for Beijing to ease up, once again, on its threat to ban exports of rare earths. - The Guardian
The first signs of an "autumn bounce" were seen in the housing market in September as prices increased month-on-month for the first time since May. The average price of a property coming on the market increased by 0.7%, or £2,441, in September according to Rightmove, the property website. However, at £367,440 the average remained 0.8% below a year earlier, and 2.3% lower than the start of the summer. - The Times
Friedrich Merz, the pugnacious, stubborn German chancellor, has come out fighting in a desperate attempt to save his chancellorship. The leader who promised to transform his country's fortunes when he took power last year suffered another bloody nose at the ballot box from the Alternative for Germany on Sunday. The hard-Right party won state elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, taking 37% of the vote, according to the first exit poll. - The Telegraph
The founder of Nscale, a British data centre start-up, is in line for performance-related payouts worth up to $350m after it floats in New York. The package was disclosed in the company's prospectus, which said it was designed to ensure Josh Payne's 'continued long-term alignment" with shareholders. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices finished mixed on Friday after a volatile week marked by big swings in the oil and bond markets and three major central bank decisions, including the Federal Reserve's first rate hike in three years.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.18% at 51,682.64, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.17% to 7,650.50 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.39% firmer at 26,522.55.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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