Pfizer bid tonic for AstraZeneca

ASTRAZENECA got a double boost yesterday from renewed takeover speculation and hopes for its cancer drug pipeline.

Dealers noted suggestions that bid talks may have resumed with US predator Pfizer, whose advances were rejected earlier this year.

Astra, 87½p healthier at 4567p, has also moved its immunooncology medicine MEDI-4736, designed to help the immune system fight tumours, into a mid- stage study in colorectal cancer.

Fellow blue chip pharma companies GlaxoSmithKline and

improved 11½p to 1474½p and 36p to 4923p to help lift the FTSE 100 Index 13.95 points to 6819.75.

I nvestors headed f or t he checkout at food retailers after the latest profit warning from Tesco. Wm Morrison a nd Sainsbury’s dropped 9½p to 177½p and 13¼p to 290¼p, while Marks & Spencer lost 8¼p to 430p.

United Utilities, down 12p to 877p, was a casualty of water regulator Ofwat’s proposals that most UK suppliers should reduce their consumer bills by an average of 5 per cent by the end of the decade. Broker Liberum said: “United Utilities is very much the bad boy in today’s announcement. Ofwat has disallowed £990million of proposed costs from its business plan. This is a massive regulatory failure by United and will threaten i ts dividend if it flows through into the final determinations due out in December.”

Entertainment One, the media rights business behind Peppa Pig, gained 13½p to 354½p as it acquired Canadian television producer Force Four Productions. Debenhams enjoyed a 1¼p mark-up to 66½p on the back of buy support from N+1 Singer.

Safety and quality testing group Exova fell 22p to 193p after it was hit by production related delays f r om aerospace clients and l ower l evels of projects from transportation.

On Wall Street the Dow Jones fell 18.81 points to 17,098.38.