FTSE 100 retreated as investors mulled Boris Johnson’s sobering no-deal Brexit warning despite Airbnb’s eye-raising debut. Glaxo’s vaccine disappointment also unsettled London’s blue chip index, which dipped 59 to 6,540 early.
Shares of Airbnb rocketed higher in the first day’s trading following its IPO. The closing price of US$144 was three times the initial pricing and valued the room booker at more than US$100bn.
GlaxoSmithKline and partner Sanofi meanwhile have pushed back their COVID-19 vaccine program timetable to find a way to improve the immune response in older adults. People over fifty saw a low response in trials though results were better in the young.
Disney is to expand its Star Wars and Marvel franchises while putting more release directly onto its streaming service Disney+. Peter Pan & Wendy and Pinocchio will go straight to stream it said, while ten new Star Wars and marvel TV series are planned.
UK banks can pay dividends again after the UK regulator decided they had the financial strength to cope with COVID-19 disruption. Banks reluctantly stopped payments in March when the first lockdown was introduced.
Among the small caps, Zaim Credit Systems PLC (LON:ZAIM), the Russian small loans specialist said it a record month for online business in November. Amounts funded online rose by 63% to £854,000 in November from September’s level and are up 490% since June.
DeepVerge PLC’s (LON:DVRG) new R&D service designed to quickly validate the impact of ingredients such as probiotics and prebiotics on the skin microbiome had made a bright start. The service generated £400,000 in completed sales in the fourth-quarter.