London midday: FTSE stays down as AstraZeneca tumbles on drug disappointment

(Sharecast News) - London stocks were still weaker by midday on Thursday, dragged lower by heavy losses for AstraZeneca, as Donald Trump suggested Iran still wants to strike a peace deal despite escalating tensions between the US and Tehran.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 10,418.52, while Brent crude was 0.5% higher at $78.41 a barrel - having briefly breached $80 overnight - and West Texas Intermediate was up 0.2% at $73.68.

US Central Command said in a statement that it had struck around 90 Iranian military targets including air defence systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran's coastline.

This followed strikes on approximately 80 Iranian military targets on Tuesday, including more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats, "to impose heavy costs for Iran violating the ceasefire by attacking three commercial vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz".

In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had carried out co-ordinated missile and drone strikes against US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and threatened further attacks should the US resume its attacks.

However, Trump also seemed to imply that talks would continue. Despite initially insisting the negotiations were a "waste of time", he later said Iran's leaders had "called a little while ago" and "want to make a deal so badly". Trump was speaking to reporters on Air Force One his way back to the US from Turkey.

On home shores, a survey showed house prices remained subdued in June as the cost of living and wider geopolitical tensions weighed on sentiment.

The latest residential market survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed house prices largely unchanged month-on-month, with a negative balance of -33. The balance was -34 in April and -35 in May.

New buyer enquiries improved on May's -34 but remained in negative territory at -29. Newly-agreed sales stood at -32.

Looking ahead, and near-term price expectations were also subdued. However, at -32 they were less markedly negative than May's -44, and longer-term, the 12-month expectations balance ticked up two points to 8.

Near-term sales expectations also improved, at -16, well above March's recent low of -34.

Tarrant Parsons, head of market research and analysis at Rics, said: "June's survey result offers some cautious encouragement that the worst of the slowdown in market activity may be beginning to pass.

"That said, any nascent improvement remains fragile, and is now being tested by renewed political uncertainty on the domestic front.

"While the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged, uncertainty around the outlook for inflation and borrowing costs continues to weigh on sentiment. Until there is greater clarity over both the political backdrop and the path of interest rates, house market activity is likely to remain relatively subdued."

In equity markets, AstraZeneca tumbled as it said a trial for a treatment for a rare type of heart disease had failed to meet its primary objective.

Dan Coatsworth, head of investment at AJ Bell, said: "AstraZeneca's latest update was more bitter than sweet as it said the drugs don't work.

"A setback for a promising treatment knocked its share price for six and acted as a major drag on the FTSE 100.

"It meant the UK market was the only major European index to be in the red as others including the Dax and CAC 40 staged a comeback after yesterday's miserable session.

"Many of yesterday's losers dominated the risers' list, including miners and banks as investors took the view that Donald Trump might not let the Iran war rage on. He hinted that Iran still wanted to make a peace deal, giving the market hope that a resolution is still possible."

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

Gambling software maker Playtech also rallied after saying it expects annual earnings to be "significantly" above estimates following a strong performance in the first six months of the year.

Bytes Technology gained after saying it traded well in the first four months of the year, delivering double-digit year-on-year growth in gross invoiced income and gross profit across both the private and public sectors.

Miners were on the front foot, with Glencore, Antofagasta, Anglo American and Fresnillo among the top risers on the FTSE 100.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,418.52 -0.67%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,072.65 0.24%

techMARK (TASX) 5,829.58 -0.82%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Computacenter (CCC) 4,456.00p 8.12%

Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,316.00p 4.50%

Glencore (GLEN) 508.90p 3.82%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,642.00p 3.40%

Anglo American (AAL) 3,483.00p 3.16%

Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,092.00p 2.70%

Fresnillo (FRES) 2,616.00p 2.03%

HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,448.40p 1.93%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,607.00p 1.89%

Barclays (BARC) 505.90p 1.89%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,880.00p -9.49%

British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,513.00p -2.21%

BAE Systems (BA.) 1,880.00p -2.16%

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (DI) (CCEP) 7,840.00p -1.81%

Diageo (DGE) 1,483.00p -1.59%

Unilever (ULVR) 4,567.00p -1.57%

BP (BP.) 483.70p -1.48%

Croda International (CRDA) 2,854.00p -1.38%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,037.00p -1.38%

Smith & Nephew (SN.) 1,111.50p -1.15%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Playtech (PTEC) 379.60p 18.55%

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings (AML) 37.72p 4.13%

Elementis (ELM) 156.20p 3.86%

Pan African Resources (PAF) 94.50p 3.05%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 453.00p 3.05%

Pagegroup (PAGE) 118.60p 3.04%

Bytes Technology Group (BYIT) 402.60p 2.94%

Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 345.25p 2.75%

Ninety One (N91) 216.00p 2.65%

RIT Capital Partners (RCP) 2,460.00p 2.50%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Zigup (ZIG) 447.50p -3.87%

Globaldata (DATA) 73.40p -3.72%

AO World (AO.) 91.50p -3.17%

Sirius Real Estate Ltd. (SRE) 93.35p -2.86%

Chemring Group (CHG) 535.50p -2.19%

SSP Group (SSPG) 189.10p -2.07%

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited NPV (CORD) 122.50p -2.00%

Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 1,032.00p -1.90%

Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 768.00p -1.79%

Syncona Limited NPV (SYNC) 107.20p -1.65%