London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.5% at 7,681.15 in afternoon trade on Thursday.
Events organiser Informa was the standout gainer on the index after it agreed to sell its pharma intelligence business to US investment firm Warburg Pincus for £1.9bn, and announced a share buyback. Pharma Intelligence, which provides specialist intelligence and data for clinical trials, drug development and regulatory compliance, is the largest business within Informa’s intelligence division.
AstraZeneca was also a high riser after it announced an increase to its annualised dividend and an upbeat outlook as the drugs company swung to a fourth-quarter loss driven by higher costs.
Miners were among the gainers as metals prices rose, with Antofagasta, Rio Tinto and Anglo American all up.
Russian steelmaker Evraz was the worst performer on the index, closely followed by Dechra Pharmaceuticals.
FTSE 100 – Risers
Informa (INF) 613.00p 6.94%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 8,662.00p 3.56%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 143.10p 2.88%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,117.00p 2.34%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,320.00p 2.33%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 5,802.00p 2.29%
ITV (ITV) 122.40p 2.21%
Anglo American (AAL) 3,584.00p 1.88%
Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 4,104.00p 1.79%
Pearson (PSON) 634.80p 1.63%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Evraz (EVR) 428.90p -3.62%
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 3,862.00p -2.87%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 177.30p -2.53%
Relx plc (REL) 2,254.00p -2.47%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,011.00p -2.05%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 12,550.00p -2.03%
Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) 1,853.50p -1.98%
Abrdn (ABDN) 247.80p -1.98%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,845.00p -1.90%
Sage Group (SGE) 686.20p -1.83%
