Key moments
US markets boosted by OpenAI and AMD deal
Wall Street opened up today boosted by the deal between OpenAI and chipmaker AMD, while investors remained largely unfazed by the US government shutdown.
The S&P 500 was up 19.78 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 6,735.57, the Dow Jones industrial was up 51.16 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 46,809.44 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 99.76 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 22,880.26.
OpenAI and AMD have struck a deal whereby the AI company will take a ten per cent stake in AMD for $270 billion while also agreeing to buy chips from AMD valued at tens of billions of dollars to build the computing capacity needed to develop AI to its “full potential”.
AMD shares rose 34 per cent at open, valuing the company at $355 billion.
AZ signs $555m deal with Algen to licence its AI discoveries
AstraZeneca has signed a $555 million deal with Algen Biotechnologies under which it will receive a licence to develop gene therapies based on discoveries by the US biotech’s AI driven platform.
Under the deal, AstraZeneca will get exclusive rights to develop therapies that target immune system-related disorders. The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group will also get the right to sell the treatments, if they are approved, while Algen will get upfront and milestone payments.
Algen was spun out from the lab at UC Berkeley and its AI platform, AlgenBrain, can map genes-to-disease outcomes
AstraZeneca has been advancing its cell and gene therapy capabilities through acquisitions and partnerships as it continues working towards its target of $80 billion in sales by 2030.
Shadow chancellor to end business rates for shops and pubs
Sir Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, has announced a £4 billion plan to revive England’s high streets, including a proposal to scrap business rates for most shops, pubs and leisure businesses.
He set out the idea as part of a new economic package that included a series of pledges he claimed could be largely funded by a crackdown on welfare spending.
“A future conservative government will completely abolish business rates for shops and pubs on our high streets,” Stride said.
He also plans to cut £47 billion from public spending to restore economic stability, confirmed a £5,000 national insurance rebate for people taking their first full-time job, and proposed restricting welfare benefits to British citizens.
Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI chief executive, said: “Businesses will welcome the shadow chancellor’s enthusiastic backing for enterprise, as well as his steadfast commitment to fiscal responsibility.
However, she said it was “more fundamental reform of a broken business rates system that is needed if we’re to incentivise the investment our country needs”.
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the organisation had “long argued for fundamental reform of business rates to create a system that is fair and affordable.
“While reviving our high streets is important, any changes to the rates system must go further and benefit businesses of all sizes,” she said.
Marks and Spencer to shut some cafés
Marks & Spencer has started to close some cafés in its smaller food shops across the UK as it re-jigs stores to create more space for higher-margin products.
The FTSE 100 retail chain has pinpointed 11 cafés for closure in its food halls, including those based in Tiverton, Eastgate, Anlaby and Chelmsford.
M&S said the closures equated to less than 4 per cent of its portfolio of about 316 food shops, but would not say whether any further closures were planned.
The retailer is converting existing stores and opening new ones as part of a wider £300 million store rotation and investment programme. It aims to have 420 food halls by the end of the 2028 financial year.
An M&S spokesman said: “As we look to modernise our food business and offer the best of M&S Food to more people, more often, we’re investing in our store estate to give our customers the widest possible product range. This includes opening brand-new coffee shops.”
Ineos to axe 175 jobs and shut two German plants
Ineos’s German chief has said Europe is “committing industrial suicide” as he announced plans to shut two chemical production units in Rheinberg, Germany, with the loss of 175 jobs.
The closures are the direct result of high energy and carbon costs and a lack of tariff protection, Ineos Inovyn said. The company is Europe’s largest producer of chlorvinyls and the global leader in speciality PVC. The plants being closed are strategically important units in the heartland of the European chemicals sector, it said.
Stephen Dossett, the Ineos Inovyn chief executive, said: “Europe is committing industrial suicide. While competitors in the US and China benefit from cheap energy, European producers are being priced out by our own policies and absence of tariff protection.”
The company said that while the US has imposed tariffs to stem the flood of cheap chemicals from Asia, Europe continues to leave its markets wide open.
OpenAI takes $270bn stake in AMD in multibillion-dollar deal
OpenAI has agreed to buy chips from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for tens of billions of dollars in a deal that will also see it take a $270 billion, 10 per cent stake in the semiconductor maker.
The first gigawatt deployment of AMD’s latest chips in the six gigawatt arrangement is set to begin in the second half of 2026, said AMD. OpenAI has previously said that one gigawatt of capacity costs about $50 billion to bring online.
“This partnership is a major step in building the compute capacity needed to realise AI’s full potential. AMD’s leadership in high-performance chips will enable us to accelerate progress and bring the benefits of advanced AI to everyone faster,” Sam Altman, the co-founder and chief executive of OpenAI, said.
“This partnership brings the best of AMD and OpenAI together to create a true win-win enabling the world’s most ambitious AI buildout and advancing the entire AI ecosystem,” Lisa Su, the chair and chief executive of AMD, said.
The deal comes a fortnight after Nvidia announced it planned to invest $100 billion in OpenAI.
Audioboom puts itself up for sale
The podcasting company could be the next to join the corporate exodus from London’s junior stock market.
Audioboom has confirmed the launch of a strategic review with one of the options being the “the potential sale of the company”.
The company, which listed on Aim in 2014, is now the fifth-largest podcast publisher in the United States and produces shows such as Sue Perkins: An hour or so with…, F1: Beyond the Grid and Crime Weekly.
It makes money from advertising and allows content to be distributed via platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple and Google Podcasts, Facebook and X. It also develops and produces its own content through Audioboom Studios. Since 2018, Audioboom claims it has generated nearly $300 million in revenue from its podcast creators.
In a stock exchange filing, Audioboom said it has not received a takeover proposal but “is in discussions with certain strategic partners and trade peers regarding potential commercial or strategic partnerships”. Sky first reported that the company was considering a possible sale.
European Commission backs Italy in pasta wars with US
The European Commission has said it will intervene if necessary to support of Italy in its battle with the US, which has said it will apply tariffs of up to 92 per cent on Italian pasta makers.
In a preliminary ruling, the US department of commerce found that anti-dumping tariffs were warranted against 13 Italian pasta companies, including Barilla. The tariffs would take effect from January and come on top of the 15 per cent tariff that President Trump has imposed on all imports from Europe, raising the effective tariff on most premium Italian pastas to 107 per cent.
The European Commission has said it will back Italy in its dispute with the US over the issue, according the Financial Times. “The European Commission, in close co-ordination with the Italian government, is engaging with the US on this investigation, and will intervene as necessary,” said an EC trade spokesman.
Mondi shares extend sell-off
The packing and paper company’s shares have extended losses, falling as much as 18 per cent after it warned of a hit to third-quarter profits in a challenging market.
Mondi, a leader in sustainable packaging and paper, reported underlying profits of €223 million in the quarter, which analysts at Jefferies said was “11 per cent is below our already cut third-quarter estimate to €250 million”. Underlying profit in the second quarter was €274 million.
Mondi said demand stayed subdued and selling prices for paper fell, forcing the company to extend planned maintenance shutdowns and sharpen its operational focus. Both corrugated and flexible packaging reported lower profits than in the previous quarter, while uncoated fine paper suffered from weak demand and strong competition.
It also said new projects were expected to contribute less than expected to profits and delayed investment in a new sack kraft paper machine in Canada until markets improve.
Others in the sector were hit, with Smurfit WestRock down 5 per cent and Bunzl losing 1.85 per cent.
Housebuilding puts brake on contraction in construction
A slowdown across the UK’s construction sector eased last month as housebuilding activity picked up pace, the latest S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed.
The PMI reading for the sector rose to 46.2 in September, up from 45.5 in August, marking its highest level for three months. However, it remains below the 50 mark which separates contraction from growth. Civil Engineering was the hardest-hit sub-sector.
Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: “Construction firms recorded lower staffing levels for the ninth month in a row, marking the longest period of job shedding since the pandemic.”
New car sales rise in best September since 2020
The new car sales rose 13.7 per cent year-on-year to 312,891 last month.
It was the best September performance since 2020, helped by the new electric car grant, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed.
A total of 72,779 new battery electric vehicles were sold, the highest ever monthly volume and, when combined with hybrids, means electrified vehicles comprise the majority of registrations.
Overall, the market is up 4.2 per cent in the year to date after second-biggest month of the year, with the share of battery electric cars rising to 22.1 per cent.
French market falls on prime minister’s resignation
France’s stock market fell this morning after the prime minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned less than a month into the job.
The CAC 40 dropped 2 per cent to 7,921.14, government bond yields rose, and the euro fell against the dollar and the pound.
His government also resigned hours after Lecornu announced his cabinet line-up, in a major deepening of France’s political crisis. The swift, unexpected resignation came after allies and foes alike threatened to topple the new government.
Philip Shaw, the chief economist at Investec, said: “French bond spreads have widened out, which is not surprising, but the move looks contained. You could argue Lecornu’s task was impossible given the measures he was proposing.
“The impasse is likely to continue. There is already a certain degree of uncertainty priced in. One question is does this mean we are heading to fresh elections, but at this point it’s hard to tell what Macron will do.”
President Macron has accepted his resignation, the Élysée Palace said.
Speedy Hire and HSS share jump on deal
Speedy Hire shares have jumped after the company agreed a deal with smaller rival HSS Hire Group.
Under a five-year commercial supply agreement, Speedy will become the principal equipment supplier to ProService, HSS’s digital marketplace. Speedy will also take a 9.99 per cent stake in HSS.
Shares in Speedy jumped 13 per cent, or 3p, to 27¼p, and HSS shares gained 50 per cent to 11p as it said its strategic transformation was complete as it pivoted from asset-heavy equipment rental.
HSS also announced the disposal of its equipment hire business to a new company indirectly owned by investment funds managed by Endless, the private equity investor. It is conditional on regulatory approval.
Results for the 15 months to the end of March showed revenue rose from £312.4 million last year to £379 million. Profits fell from £6.9 million to a £130.3 million loss before tax after an impairment charge.
FTSE 100 flat but Mondi drops on warning
London’s leading share index edged higher this morning, helped by a rise in commodity prices.
The FTSE 100 rose 4 points to 9,495.29 after closing at its third record high of the week on Friday as global equity markets rallied on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this month.
Precious metals miners Fresnillo and Endeavour advanced after the gold price rose closer to $4,000 an ounce and BP and Shell gained after Brent crude increased 1.6 per cent to $65.60 a barrel after Opec+ announced a more modest monthly increase in production than expected.
The biggest faller was the packaging and paper company Mondi, which warned on profits in the third quarter as trading conditions remained challenging. Performance was weaker than in the second quarter due to lower volumes, falling paper prices, and planned maintenance shutdowns. Analysts at Jefferies said Editba was €223 million, “11 per cent below our already cut third quarter estimate of €250 million”.
Financial and housing stocks were weaker.
Treatt recommends sweetened takeover offer
The board of the flavour and fragrance ingredients maker has recommended investors back an increased and final £173.8 million takeover offer.
Natara Global, a rival company controlled by the private equity group Exponent, is offering 290p-a-share in cash. The initial offer last month was for 260p a share.
The offer is 11.5 per cent more than the previous proposal and is nearly 30 per cent above the company’s closing share price before the first bid was announced.
Treatt’s directors, advised by Peel Hunt and Investec, said they now “consider the terms of the increased cash offer to be fair and reasonable” and will unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the deal.
Shawbrook announces London float plan
The specialist small business lender Shawbrook has announced plans to float on the London Stock Exchange in a further boost to the London market.
The company has filed documents with the Financial Conduct Authority ahead of a listing that could put a £2 billion value on the business.
As well as issuing new shares to support growth plans, the float would see private equity owners Pollen Street Capital and BC Partners sell some of their stakes. Retail investors will be able to take part in the offer.
Marcelino Castrillo, the Shawbrook chief executive, said: “The strength of our platform has enabled us to deliver a long track record of sustainable, profitable growth through a wide variety of macro conditions.”
Recent half-year results showed that Shawbrook generated a pre-tax profit of £163.1 million in the six months to the end of June on net operating income of £335.5 million.
Aston Martin warns on profits and production
The struggling luxury carmaker warned that full-year profits and production will be lower than expected amid “heightened challenges in the global macroeconomic environment” and the “impact of tariffs”.
In an unscheduled announcement, Aston Martin Lagonda said it expected adjusted earnings before interest and taxes “to be below the lower end of the range of market consensus” driven by the weaker volumes and pressure on the gross margin per vehicle.
It now expects total wholesale volumes in the current financial year to “decline by mid-high single digit percentage” when compared with the prior year.
“An immediate review of future cost and capital expenditures has been initiated by the management team. This will also include a review of the future product cycle plan in response to market and regulatory dynamics,” Aston Martin said.
JLR to restart some UK production
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is to restart some production this week after the cyberattack that forced the carmaker to shut down factories and send workers home, the BBC reports.
Manufacturing is expected to resume first at JLR’s engine factory in Wolverhampton, although it is likely to be weeks before all operations are at full capacity.
JLR was plunged into a crisis after hackers breached the company’s IT systems. Global production has been at a standstill since, although a phased restart has been expected.
The Sunday Times reported that the carmaker was finalising plans to lend £500 million to prop up its struggling suppliers. The initiative is separate to a £1.5 billion “rescue” unveiled by ministers last Saturday. The taxpayer-backed deal is still yet to be signed off despite appearances to the contrary.
Sanae Takaichi win lifts Nikkei to record
Japanese stocks surged 5 per cent to an all-time high of 48,037.05 while the yen fell after the monetary dove Sanae Takaichi was elected as leader of the ruling party.
The victory puts her on track to become the country’s first female prime minister and stoked expectations of fiscal stimulus.
The yen fell 1.6 per cent to around ¥150 per dollar, while short-dated Japanese government bond yields slid to a two-week low as traders pared back bets on when the Bank of Japan will resume raising interest rates. Market-implied odds of a rate rise by year-end have fallen sharply.
A year ago, Takaichi criticised the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise rates as “stupid”, although her recent rhetoric has been more restrained, saying only that central bank policy should be aligned with the government.
Gold heads for $4,000 an ounce
Gold rose above $3,900 an ounce for the first time and the cryptocurrency, bitcoin, remained around its all-time high as investors turned to alternative assets amid concerns over the US government shutdown and the ability of major western economics to manage rising debt levels.
The price of gold rose to $3,937 an ounce this morning, up 1.26 per cent, while bitcoin was trading at £123,586 after its rise to a high of $125,653.32 on Sunday.
The move into safe-haven assets have been called a “debasement trade”. JPMorgan Chase said in a note last week that it reflected “the familiar pattern of dollar debasement against alternative reserve assets amid Washington dysfunction”.
Geoffrey Kendrick, the head of digital assets research at Standard Chartered Bank, said: “The shutdown matters this time around. This year, bitcoin has traded with US government risks.”
He expects bitcoin to rise throughout the shutdown and soon reach $135,000.
