London’s FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 7,471.41 in afternoon trade on Thursday.
Shares in GlaxoSmithKline tumbled amid concerns about legal upcoming proceedings related to the pharmaceutical company’s former blockbuster heartburn drug Zantac.
Rio Tinto and AstraZeneca were both under the cosh as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.
Spirax-Sarco Engineering fell even as it hailed a “strong” first half despite headwinds, reported a jump in profits and said order books remain at record levels. In the six months to 30 June, adjusted pre-tax profit was up 10% to £175.2m, on revenue of £750.1m, up 17% on the same period a year earlier. On a statutory basis, however, pre-tax profit was 8% lower at £138.5m.
On the upside, Ladbrokes owner Entain rallied after it announced a new drive to expand in Central & Eastern Europe and the acquisition of a Croatian sportsbook operator, as it posted a rise in first-half net gaming revenue.
Coca-Cola HBC fizzed higher after it reported half-year net sales of €4.21bn, beating market expectations of €3.98bn.
Investment manager M&G gained after it posted a first-half adjusted operating profit of £182m, comfortably ahead of analyst expectations of £143m.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Entain (ENT) 1,389.50p 6.19%
Harbour Energy (HBR) 378.90p 5.25%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,477.00p 4.29%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 2,044.00p 3.18%
Fresnillo (FRES) 759.60p 2.73%
Flutter Entertainment (CDI) (FLTR) 9,392.00p 2.58%
M&G (MNG) 223.20p 2.53%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 154.55p 2.35%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,025.00p 2.30%
Abrdn (ABDN) 174.40p 1.78%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
GSK (GSK) 1,403.60p -9.83%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,542.50p -4.25%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,819.00p -3.68%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 148.10p -3.46%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 10,462.00p -3.29%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 11,730.00p -2.25%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 415.50p -2.17%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 537.60p -1.97%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 293.80p -1.71%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,858.50p -1.61%
