London FTSE 100 rises as AstraZeneca stake in Summit boosts healthcare shares

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FTSE 100 rises on AstraZeneca stake

Highlights

FTSE 100 rises 0.34% to 10,721.48 points by 0925 GMT, led by a 1.5% gain in the pharmaceutical sector as AstraZeneca announces a $2 billion investment in Summit Therapeutics.
Industrial metals stocks rebound 1.3% with Glencore and Anglo American up 1.6% and 1.7% respectively, tracking copper price recovery after prior declines.
Vesuvius surges 21.7% on FTSE 250 after RHI Magnesita N.V proposes a cash-and-stock acquisition, while Close Brothers climbs 11.2% on an annual adjusted profit beat.

Healthcare and mining stocks lift the index

As reported by Reuters, the FTSE 100 rises 0.34% to 10,721.48 points by 0925 GMT, while the FTSE 250 adds 0.24% as pharmaceutical and industrial metals stocks lead the market higher.

The pharma sector advances 1.5%, with AstraZeneca up 1.7% to a two-month high after saying it will invest $2 billion in Summit Therapeutics and collaborate on a series of studies testing their cancer treatments together. Peer GSK also gains 1.7%.

Industrial metals stocks rebound 1.3% after losing more than 1% on Monday, tracking a recovery in copper prices. Glencore and Anglo American rise 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively.

Bond yields, company updates and UK data in focus

Oil prices rise, prompting traders to sharply reprice interest rate expectations and helping keep global bond yields at multi-decade highs. Even so, the yield on the British benchmark 10-year gilt eases on Tuesday after climbing to its highest level since 2007 in the previous session.

Among other movers, Vesuvius jumps 21.7% to top the FTSE 250 after Austria-based RHI Magnesita N.V proposes to buy the metal flow engineering firm in a cash-and-stock bid. British American Tobacco falls 1.7% after warning that annual growth is likely to come in at the lower end of its forecast range, while Close Brothers climbs 11.2% after reporting annual adjusted operating profit of 120.3 million pounds, above a company-compiled consensus of 111 million pounds.

On the data front, British shop price inflation slows slightly in September despite cost pressures on retailers from the Iran war, according to a survey from the British Retail Consortium, which prompts calls for greater government support. Investors are also awaiting second-quarter GDP data due later this week for further signals on the health of the UK economy.

In our earlier coverage of Vesuvius weighing RHI Magnesita’s cash-and-stock takeover approach, we outlined how the bid valued the UK engineering group at about £1.37 billion and offered a sizable premium to its prior close. We also noted the sharp jump in Vesuvius shares and the strategic backdrop, with the offer targeting a direct rival in refractory materials as Vesuvius faces pressure in its steel-related business.

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