6th Feb 2026 07:55
(Alliance News) - UK house prices rise more sharply than expected, GSK wins approval for Nucala to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the EU, while Victrex backs its annual guidance.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called down 0.5% at 10,255.22
GBP: higher at USD1.3566 (USD1.3536 at previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS
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UK house prices rose more sharply than expected on-month in January, while annual growth picked up, numbers from Halifax showed on Friday. House prices rose by 0.7% in January following a 0.5% fall in December, with the average price increasing to GBP300,077, above GBP300,000 for the first time. A rise of 0.1% was expected for January, according to market consensus cited by FXStreet. Annual house price growth increased to 1.0% in January from 0.4% in December. "While that's undoubtedly a milestone figure, and activity levels show a resilient market, affordability remains a challenge for many would-be buyers," said Halifax head of Mortgages Amanda Bryden. "Broader economic conditions continue to provide some support. Wage growth has been outpacing property price inflation since late 2022, steadily improving underlying affordability. That's a positive trend for buyers, and the long-term health of the market." The analyst said Halifax thinks house prices are likely to edge up between 1% and 3% this year. Halifax said regional differences in house price performance have become more pronounced. Northern Ireland continues to lead the UK, with annual prices up 5.9%, while Scotland is 5.4% higher. In England, the strongest growth is in the North, where prices rose by 2.1% in the North West and 1.2% in the North East. In contrast, the South East, South West, London and Eastern England all saw annual declines of more than 1%. "As the four most expensive areas of the country, these markets tend to be more sensitive to higher borrowing costs and taxes, which can weigh on affordability and confidence," Halifax said.
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BROKER RATINGS
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JPMorgan reinitiates Rio Tinto with 'overweight' - price target 7,500 pence
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JPMorgan reinitiates Glencore with 'neutral' - price target 490 pence
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Oddo BHF cuts Wizz Air to 'underperform' (neutral) - price target 1,300 (1,180) pence
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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GSK says the European Commission approves Nucala in adults as an add-on maintenance treatment for uncontrolled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The London-based pharmaceutical firm says this is characterised by raised blood eosinophils on a combination of an inhaled corticosteroid, a long-acting beta2-agonist, and a long-acting muscarinic antagonist. The approval is based on the Matinee phase three trial in which mepolizumab, or Nucala, showed a clinically meaningful and statistically significant reduction in the annual rate of moderate and severe exacerbations compared to the placebo plus standard of care treatment. GSK notes that COPD is forecast to be the leading cause of hospital admissions worldwide over the next decade. "For the first time, adults with uncontrolled COPD characterised by raised blood eosinophils in the EU will have the option for a monthly biologic shown to significantly reduce exacerbations, which can lead to irreversible lung damage, hospitalisations and emergency department visits," says Kaivan Khavandi, global head of Respiratory, Immunology & Inflammation research & development at GSK.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Victrex maintains its annual guidance in a trading update ahead of Friday's annual general meeting. The Lancashire, England-based polymer producer reports revenue of GBP62.4 million for the first quarter to the end of December, down 6% from GBP66.6 million a year ago. The firm says sales volume falls 4% to 858 tonnes from 898 tonnes. It says this reflects growth in Energy & Industrial offset by a more subdued performance in Transport, Value Added Resellers and Medical. The average selling price was broadly in line with the prior year, at GBP73 per kilogram compared to GBP74. Victrex adds that for the year-to-date performance, to the end of January, volumes are in line with the prior year, with January recovering some of the shortfall from a weaker December. Revenue is slightly lower than the previous year, primarily reflecting sales mix. As previously reported, Victrex expects financial 2026 performance to be weighted to the second half. It expects performance in the first half of the year to be weaker than a year ago. "The start of FY 2026 reflected usual Q1 seasonality, alongside a subdued performance across some end-markets. On a year to date basis, our second quarter started solidly, with YTD volumes now in line with the prior year. Whilst we continue to be mindful of wider macroeconomic conditions, our full year guidance remains unchanged," says Chief Executive Officer James Routh. "FY 2026 will be a transitional year, with our profit improve plan helping us become a more efficient, growth focused and performance oriented company. By further differentiating our business and creating a more agile and customer-focused organisation, we will unlock Victrex's potential and better position the company for sustainable growth over the medium to longer term."
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HgCapital Trust estimates a net asset value total return per share of 4.0% for 2025, with NAV per share of 561.9 pence at the end of December. The trust, which provides access to private equity investments of manager Hg, says positive performance and exits above book value in the second half largely offset the first half decline of 0.4%. "Strong trading from the underlying portfolio companies was a key driver of performance over the year, contributing [plus] 17% to portfolio value," HgCapital Trust says. It adds that elevated public market volatility saw multiples used to value its portfolio companies contract, detracting from portfolio valuations by 7% over the reporting period. "Public market volatility has increased sharply through January and into February 2026, especially in the software sector, sparked by investor concerns about the potential impact of AI on the software industry, coupled with a pronounced rotation of capital out of software and into hardware (chips, memory and data-centre build-out)," it notes. It adds that the broad-based decline has seen its share price fall 20% in the year-to-date. "Given the scale of the recent dislocation between the share price and the value placed on the assets within the HgT portfolio, the board is actively considering a number potential actions to address the current discount to net asset value using the full set of tools at its disposal, including share buy-backs, and following the well-established processes HgT has developed to manage such situations," the firm says. In a separate release, HgCapital Trust engages Deutsche Numis to conduct a share buyback programme on its performance. It will be carried out under the existing authorisation for repurchases of up to 15% of issued capital, being 68.6 million shares.
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OTHER COMPANIES
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Wheaton Precious Metals says President Haytham Hodaly will succeed Randy Smallwood as chief executive officer which reflects "an ongoing leadership evolution to support the next phase in the company's growth trajectory". The Vancouver-based miner says Smallwood will step down as CEO and take on the role of non-executive chair at the end of March. "I am honored to step into the role of president and CEO at such an exciting time in both the company's history and the broader precious metals market," says incoming CEO Haytham Hodaly. "We have a clear vision for the future and an exceptionally strong foundation from which to grow, positioning us well to support the next generation of mine builders in an unprecedented environment for gold and silver."
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By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter
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Related Shares:
GlencoreRio TintoWizz AirGlaxosmithklineVictrexHgCapital Trust plcWheaton Precious Metals Corp.