The FTSE 100 closed 16.59 points lower, or 0.2%, at 10,472.45 on Thursday, dragged down by a sharp decline in AstraZeneca after a clinical trial failure. The FTSE 250, however, rose 222.92 points, or 1.0%, to 23,240.56, and the AIM All-Share gained 4.18 points, or 0.6%, to 762.25.
AstraZeneca Plunges on Trial Miss
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca fell 6.2% after announcing that its cardiovascular drug Wainua (eplontersen), developed with Ionis Pharmaceuticals, failed to meet its primary endpoint in a phase three trial for transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy. The drug did not show a statistically significant reduction in mortality or cardiovascular events over 140 weeks compared to placebo.
Jefferies analyst Michael Leuchten said: “The failure does put net present value at risk, 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.” JPMorgan analyst Richard Vosser expects market consensus to remove most of the $3.3 billion risk-adjusted peak sales forecast for the drug.
Mining Stocks Rally on Metal Price Surge
Gains in mining stocks offset some of AstraZeneca's drag. Antofagasta climbed 5.4%, Anglo American rose 5.8%, and Glencore added 4.2% as metal prices rallied. Gold traded at $4,126.64 per ounce on Thursday, up from $4,022.15 on Wednesday, while silver gained 3.5% and copper rose 2.7%.
European and US Markets Advance
European equities performed better, with the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt both closing up 0.9%. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7%.
PepsiCo Results Mixed; Oil Eases
PepsiCo fell 3.5% after reporting mixed second-quarter results. Net income more than doubled to $2.98 billion, while net revenue rose 6.4% to $24.18 billion. However, organic revenue growth of 2.4% slightly missed the 2.6% consensus. Citigroup noted softer-than-expected North America results but stronger international organic sales growth.
Oil prices eased despite renewed US-Iran conflict. Brent crude for September delivery traded at $77.03 per barrel, down from $80 on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump said he expected the flare-up to end quickly and claimed Tehran wants to make a deal.
Currency and Bond Markets
The euro rose to $1.1432 against the greenback, up from $1.1398. The dollar traded at 162.37 yen, down from 162.68. Sterling strengthened to $1.3397 from $1.3358, but eased against the euro to €1.1717 from €1.1722. The US 10-year Treasury yield narrowed to 4.55% from 4.60%, and the 30-year yield eased to 5.06% from 5.09%.
FTSE 100 Risers and Fallers
Computacenter rose 7.2% after forecasting full-year results comfortably ahead of market expectations, driven by strong North America trading with hyperscaler customers. The company now expects adjusted pretax profit above £313.7 million, up from £272.0 million in 2025.
On the FTSE 250, Playtech jumped 14% after forecasting 2026 results above expectations, with first-half adjusted EBITDA of €270 million, significantly above consensus. Capita plunged 21% after warning of up to £40 million adjusted operating profit hit due to failures in the civil service pension scheme contract. Bango soared 21% after reporting strong recurring revenue growth and reaffirming 2026 expectations.
The biggest FTSE 100 risers were Computacenter (up 298p to 4,434p), Anglo American (up 197p to 3,578p), Antofagasta (up 189p to 3,716p), Glencore (up 20.75p to 511.4p), and Endeavour Mining (up 147p to 3,709p). The biggest fallers were AstraZeneca (down 886p to 13,354p), BAE Systems (down 86p to 1,839p), Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (down 200p to 7,790p), British American Tobacco (down 114p to 4,497p), and Babcock International (down 26p to 1,026p).
Outlook
Friday's global economic calendar includes Canadian unemployment data and CPI figures from France and Germany. Local corporate trading statements are due from MJ Gleeson and Hays.
