The FTSE 100 trailed rebounding European peers on Thursday as AstraZeneca sank on a failed drug trial. Oil majors added to the drag, while London’s mid-cap and small-cap indices climbed.
A 9.3% drop in AstraZeneca became the FTSE 100’s single largest weight on Thursday. The benchmark opened down 0.5% at 10,432.24, with the pharmaceutical firm — the index’s second-largest constituent — pulling it lower even as the CAC 40 and DAX recovered from Wednesday’s geopolitical losses.
AstraZeneca drug failure drives the fall
The slide followed a clinical trial setback. AstraZeneca’s gene-silencing drug Wainua, developed with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, failed in late-stage testing to prevent heart complications in patients with a rare cardiac disease.
Oil majors compounded the weakness. Brent crude eased to $77.05 a barrel from $80.00, and BP fell 1.4% while Shell dropped 0.8%. The move in oil followed fresh geopolitical tension. The US conducted a second consecutive round of strikes on Iran, reportedly hitting 90 military targets.
Mid-caps and select names buck the trend
Away from the blue chips, the picture was brighter. The FTSE 250 rose 0.5% to 23,131.58, and the AIM all-share gained 0.3% to 760.38.
Several individual stocks advanced. Computacenter surged 11% after raising full-year guidance on strong hyperscale demand, Antofagasta rose 4.1% on a Citigroup price-target increase, and Centrica gained 0.6% after the UK government signed a 20-year contract extension for the Sizewell B nuclear station.
Europe pulls ahead of London
Continental markets outpaced the UK. The CAC 40 rose 0.6% and the DAX gained 0.7%, helped by German trade data showing exports up 0.9% and imports down 2.5% in May. That left the FTSE 100 as Europe’s laggard on the day, weighed down by a single heavyweight rather than a broad market retreat.
Source: marketscreener.com
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