Failed trial by pharma giant drags Footsie

Market report Emma Newlands

Astrazeneca dragged the London market lower as investors checked out of the pharmaceutical giant after it revealed that a lung cancer drug trial had failed.

The company’s stock closed down 788p to 4,325p, as the first round of the “Mystic trial” showed that a combination of durvalumab and tremelimumab does not improve survival rates any more than standard chemotherapy.

The FTSE 100 Index slipped 9.31 points to 7,443.01, in what was cited as the busiest reporting day in 20 years with an estimated 27 FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 firms publishing results.

On the currency markets, the pound fell 0.4 per cent against the US dollar at $1.30 as the greenback held strong after pushing ahead in response to the Federal Reserve’s decision the previous day to leave US interest rates unchanged. Sterling climbed 0.4 per cent versus the euro at €1.120.

In UK stocks, Lloyds Banking Group was among the biggest fallers despite profits rising for the half year. Shares were down 1.6p to 67.5p after it took a £1.6 billion hit to cover costs linked to the mis-selling of PPI and to resolve its mistreatment of mortgage customers. However, drinks giant Diageo saw its share price soar 136p to 2,408.5p thanks to a healthy sales update and news of a £1.5bn share buy-back scheme.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index included Rentokil Initial, up 16p to 290.8p, Next, up 147p to 3,927p and Smith & Nephew, up 43p to 1,344p. The biggest fallers included SSE, down 80p to 1,380p, Provident Financial, down 53p to 2,090p and Lloyds Banking Group, down 1.6p to 67.5p. The hospitality group was cheered for news that trading since the half year has been spirited, with total sales up 3.1 per cent in the year to date. The estate agent experienced what an analyst called a “meltdown” in first-half profits, with operating profit down to £6.5 million from £28.3m.