WH Smith mulling sale of high street stores, Diversified buys Maverick Natural Resources

London open The FTSE 100 is expected to open 51 points lower on Monday, having closed down 0.73% on Friday at 8,502.35.

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WH Smith confirmed it was looking at potential strategic options for its high street stores, including a possible sale of the “profitable and cash-generative” unit. The retailer said it had become a “focused global travel retailer” over the past decade. Its travel business now has more than 1,200 stores across 32 countries, providing three-quarters of group revenue and 85% of trading profit.

GSK has announced that a pre-filled syringe version of its Shingrix shingles vaccine has been accepted for review by the European Medicines Agency. Shringrix, which has already been administered to over 25m people across the continent since 2018, currently comes as a separate powder and liquid adjuvant, which need to be reconstituted in separate vials prior to administration. A pre-filled solution, if approved, would offer a more convenient option for physicians, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals, GSK said.

Diversified Energy announced the acquisition of Maverick Natural Resources for $1.275bn on Monday, expanding its asset base and commodity mix while enhancing scale and operational efficiency. The FTSE 250 company said the acquisition would increase revenue by 95%, boost free cash flow by 55%, and improve margins through synergies, with the combined company holding an enterprise value of $3.8bn and production of 1,200 million cubic feet equivalent per day. It said the move would strengthen Diversified's position in multiple basins, including the Permian and Western Anadarko.

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The government is under growing pressure to get momentum back into the economy amid warnings that businesses plan to cut jobs and raise prices, while millions of families believe their finances will worsen this year. Before a major speech this week by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, designed to restate Labour’s commitment to improving the economy, the CBI said private sector firms were urgently assessing their budgets to offset measures announced in last October’s budget. – Guardian

Two hundred UK companies have signed up for a permanent four-day working week for all their employees with no loss of pay, in the latest landmark in the campaign to reinvent Britain’s working week. Together the companies employ more than 5,000 people, with charities, marketing and technology firms among the best-represented, according to the latest update from the 4 Day Week Foundation. – Guardian

The average advertised salary has crossed £40,000 for the first time as employers “loosen their purse strings” for the right candidate. Demand for skilled staff combined with employer hesitancy around hiring pushed average salaries to a record high in December, according to jobs search engine Adzuna. – Telegraph

The owner of Guinness has denied reports it is exploring an £8bn sale of the brand as the Irish stout enjoys a surge of popularity. Diageo, the FTSE 100 drinks giant, said on Sunday it had “no intention to sell” after reports that it was considering disposing of or spinning off the Dublin-headquartered business. – Telegraph

A loosening of post-financial-crisis mortgage rules after government pressure on regulators to boost economic growth would help tens of thousands more people to buy their first homes, a new analysis has found. Planned reforms to mortgage rules could allow about 76,000 more first-time buyers to borrow large enough loans to get on to the property ladder, but easing the rules could increase home repossessions and add to housing market inflation, experts said. – The Times

US close

US stocks finished lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 pulling back from record highs, as investors reacted to data showing that private sector growth slowed to a nine-month low.

The Dow and S&P 500 both closed 0.3% lower, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.5%, with all three benchmarks snapping a four-day winning streak. The S&P 500 in particular was retreating after hitting a new closing high of 6,118.71 on Thursday.

However, despite Friday's losses, major indices were on track to deliver a second consecutive winning week on Friday, with Donald Trump's return to the White House giving investors confidence regarding the state of the US economy thanks to his pro-business approach to governing.

On the macro front, the S&P Global US manufacturing PMI increased to 50.1 in January, according to a preliminary reading, up from 49.4 in December and ahead of market expectations for a reading of 49.7, pointing to a modest improvement in manufacturing conditions after six months of decline.

The services PMI, on the other hand, fell from 56.8 to 52.8 in January, missing expectations for only a slight fall to 56.5, marking the softest pace of expansion since April 2024.