Pharma firms drop as FTSE 100 declines again

London’s top index suffered a third consecutive decline on Wednesday after a mixed bag of earnings updates by major firms.

Pharmaceutical firms were among those to drop after investors appeared slightly disappointed with GSK, as the drugs giant posted a decline in earnings for the first quarter.

Nevertheless, London’s housebuilders and banking firms had more positive sessions.

The FTSE 100 moved 0.49%, or 38.49 points, lower to finish at 7,852.64.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “Steep losses for pharma stocks in London ahead of AstraZeneca’s earnings tomorrow have kept the FTSE 100 in the red, despite a rise for housebuilders.

“Persimmon’s update this morning pointed towards a cautious recovery in activity, though the big worry is that the ongoing battle with inflation will force the Bank of England into more hikes than previously expected.”

Across the Channel, European banking stocks had a weaker showing as recent concerns over outlook continued.

Meanwhile, profit-taking in the luxury sector after recent gains for LVMH also dragged the French markets significantly lower.

The Dax fell by 0.48% and the Cac 40 decreased by 0.86% at the close.

Stateside, the Dow Jones swung lower after the opening bell as the sharp sell-off in banking firm First Republic caused concern.

Meanwhile, weakness in the dollar helped the pound to rally back while the euro struck a one-year-high.

The pound was up 0.61% to 1.248 US dollars and fell by 0.07% to 1.129 euros at market close in London.

In company news, housebuilder Persimmon was among the day’s top performers despite a slump in new house completions.

Investor sentiment improved as the group highlighted some signs of encouragement, with visitor numbers up recently and cancellation levels starting to normalise despite increases to interest rates.

Shares in the group rose by 60.5p to 1,296.5p, as rivals such as Taylor Wimpey and Barratt also gained ground.

Durex and Nurofen maker Reckitt saw shares slip from a seven-month high despite revealing a broadly robust performance.

The consumer firm saw its revenues grow by nearly 8% to £3.9 billion in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2022 amid price increases.

Shares were down 224p at 6,276p as it also appointed company insider Kris Licht as its next chief executive.

Shares at Rank Group lifted after the Grosvenor casino operator’s investors welcomed reports that physical casino venues will see restrictions loosened, with smaller revenues to be allowed 80 gambling machines up from 20.

The Government is set to unveil new gambling regulations on Thursday which would hand tougher curbs to online casinos. Rank shares improved by 7.9p to 85.2p during the session as a result.

The price of oil dipped as recent concerns over the global economic outlook wiped out gains from recent weeks.

Brent crude oil decreased by 0.26% to 80.56 US dollars per barrel when the London markets closed.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Persimmon, up 60.5p to 1,296.5p, Taylor Wimpey, up 4.5p to 125.6p, Vodafone, up 3p to 94.28p, Airtel Africa, up 3.4p to 114.7p, and Barratt Developments, up 14.3p to 495p.

The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Spirax-Sarco, down 635p to 10,895p, GSK, down 58p to 1,442.5p, AstraZeneca, down 450p to 11,844p, Reckitt, down 224p to 6,276p, and CRH, down 132p to 3,890p