Heavy falls in AstraZeneca saw London’s FTSE 100 underperform European peers, while investors continue to weigh up developments in the Middle East.
The FTSE 100 closed down 16.59 points, 0.2%, at 10,472.45. The FTSE 250 ended up 222.92 points, 1.0%, at 23,240.56, while the AIM All-Share rose 4.18 points, 0.6%, to 762.25.
Pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca sank 6.2% as it said Wainua, a cardiovascular drug that it is developing in partnership with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, did not meet its primary endpoint in a phase three trial.
AstraZeneca said Wainua, whose generic name is eplontersen, was being tested in patients with transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy. The drug did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint in terms of mortality or cardiovascular clinical events up to 140 weeks, compared to a placebo.
“The failure does put (net present value) at risk of course, but the bigger issue is probably a degree of credibility loss with management being very confident in the trial’s ability to hit the primary endpoint,” Jefferies analyst Michael Leuchten said.
JPMorgan analyst Richard Vosser anticipates market consensus to remove the majority of the 3.3 billion US dollars risk-adjusted peak sales forecast for the drug.
The fall in AstraZeneca, the second highest weighted firm in the FTSE 100, offset gains in mining stocks as metal prices rallied. Antofagasta, Anglo American and Glencore were all prominent risers, climbing 5.4%, 5.8%, and 4.2%, respectively.
Gold traded at 4,126.64 dollars an ounce on Thursday, up from 4,022.15 dollars on Wednesday. Silver gained 3.5% and copper 2.7%.
In European equity markets on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended up 0.9%, as did the DAX 40 in Frankfurt.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, the S&P 500 was 0.6% higher and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7%.
PepsiCo fell 3.5% after reporting mixed second-quarter results with organic sales growth slightly below consensus and earnings per share slightly above forecast.
The US food and beverage company reported attributable net income of 2.98 billion dollars for the quarter ended June 13, more than doubling from 1.26 billion dollars a year earlier. Net revenue increased 6.4% to 24.18 billion dollars from 22.73 billion dollars, while organic revenue grew by 2.4%, below the 2.6% consensus.
Citigroup said North America results were softer-than-expected while International organic sales growth was stronger-than-expected.
Elsewhere, oil prices eased despite the return of fighting between the US and Iran. US President Donald Trump said he expected the latest military flare-up to end quickly and left the door open to more talks. He also claimed Tehran wanted “to make a deal so badly”.
Brent crude for September delivery traded lower at 77.03 dollars a barrel on Thursday, down from 80 dollars on Wednesday.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: “After spooking markets yesterday by saying the ceasefire with Iran is over, President Trump has now claimed that Iran wants to make a deal, although this has not been confirmed by Tehran.”
The euro traded higher against the greenback, at 1.1432 dollars on Thursday against 1.1398 dollars on Wednesday. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at 162.37 yen, down from 162.68 yen on Wednesday.
The pound traded at 1.3397 dollars on Thursday afternoon, up from 1.3358 dollars on Wednesday. Against the euro, sterling eased to 1.1717 euros from 1.1722 euros on Wednesday.
The US 10-year Treasury yield traded at 4.55% on Thursday, narrowed from 4.60% on Wednesday, and the US 30-year Treasury yield eased to 5.06% from 5.09% on Wednesday.
Back in London, Computacenter rose 7.2% after stating it expects to report full-year results “comfortably ahead of market expectations”, after strong trading in the second quarter.
The Hatfield-based technology services provider said performance in the three months to June was ahead of its hopes, and followed an “excellent” first quarter.
North America trading was boosted by “even stronger-than-expected” volume growth with hyperscaler customers, benefiting both technology sourcing and professional services divisions, it said.
As a result, Computacenter now expects to deliver full-year results adjusted pretax profit “comfortably” ahead of market expectations for £313.7 million and up from £272.0 million in 2025.
On the FTSE 250, Playtech jumped 14% as it forecast 2026 results will beat market expectations, with its first half supported by an “excellent performance in the US”.
The Douglas, Isle of Man-based gambling software firm now expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 270 million euros, “significantly above the current analyst consensus”. It puts the current consensus range at 205 million euros to 225 million euros.
Elsewhere, Capita plunged 21% after warning of an up to £40 million adjusted operating profit hit this year, due to failures at the civil service pension scheme contract.
Chief executive Adolfo Hernandez said: “We recognise the service on civil service pension scheme has not been good enough.”
Bango soared 21% as it said it remains confident of delivering 2026 results in line with market expectations after reporting “strong recurring revenue growth and improved profitability” in the six months ended June 30.
The Cambridge-based digital payments firm said total revenue in the first half is expected to be 25.9 million dollars, up 2.8% from 25.2 million dollars a year ago, in line with management expectations.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Computacenter, up 298.00p at 4,434.00p, Anglo American, up 197.00p at 3,578.00p, Antofagasta, up 189.00p at 3,716.00p, Glencore, up 20.75p at 511.40p and Endeavour Mining, up 147.00p at 3,709.00p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were AstraZeneca, down 886.00p at 13,354.00p, BAE Systems, down 86.00p at 1,839.00p, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, down 200.00p at 7,790.00p, British American Tobacco, down 114.00p at 4,497.00p, and Babcock International, down 26.00p at 1,026.00p.
Friday’s global economic calendar has unemployment figures in Canada and CPI data in France and Germany.
Friday’s local corporate calendar has trading statements from MJ Gleeson and Hays.
Contributed by Alliance News