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FTSE 100 movers: AstraZeneca slides on drug trial results; miners rally

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.2% at 10,473.04 in afternoon trade on Thursday. AstraZeneca tumbled as it said a trial for a treatment for a rare type of heart disease had failed to meet its primary objective.

BP and Shell were both as oil prices eased back.

On the upside, Computacenter surged to the top of the index as it boosted full-year guidance on the back of strong second-quarter trading, including bumper demand from hyperscalers.

The technology and services provider said trading in the three months to 30 June had been ahead of expectations, building on an "excellent" first quarter.

In particular, it flagged above-forecast volume growth with hyperscale customers in North America, while in the UK, technology sourcing benefited from further artificial intelligence-related projects.

As a result, Computacenter confirmed that interim profits were likely to be around double the previous year's £81.5m, while full-year results were set to come in "comfortably ahead" of market expectations, despite tougher comparatives in the second half. The committed product order backlog was also "well ahead" as at 30 June of the £7.1bn seen at the end of December, it added.

Analysts currently expect annual adjusted pre-tax profits to come in between £305m and £324.3m.

Miners were also on the front foot, with Antofagasta, Anglo American, Glencore, Fresnillo and Rio Tinto all up.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: "Mining stocks have rebounded, with gold and silver producers benefiting as easing oil prices have taken some of the edge off inflation worries and helped push the dollar lower.

"A cheaper greenback makes commodities priced in the currency, such as precious metals, more attractive to international buyers."

FTSE 100 - Risers

Computacenter (CCC) 4,368.00p 6.04% Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,715.00p 5.36% Anglo American (AAL) 3,547.00p 4.91% Glencore (GLEN) 514.40p 4.64% Halma (HLMA) 3,708.00p 3.69% Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,104.00p 3.19% Fresnillo (FRES) 2,659.00p 3.16% Persimmon (PSN) 1,030.00p 2.89% Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,668.00p 2.73% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,434.60p 2.59%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,084.00p -8.12% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,866.50p -2.75% British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,485.00p -2.73% Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 7,805.00p -2.13% BP (BP.) 483.10p -1.59% Unilever (ULVR) 4,562.00p -1.58% National Grid (NG.) 1,227.50p -1.48% Croda International (CRDA) 2,856.00p -1.42% Reckitt Benckiser Group (RKT) 4,992.00p -1.38% Shell (SHEL) 3,037.00p -1.38%

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.