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Drugs firms lead FTSE 100 rebound | Drugs firms lead FTSE 100 rebound |
(about 1 hour later) | |
(Noon): The market enjoyed a modest rebound, with shares in drugs companies seeing some of the largest gains. | |
The benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 27.39 points, or 0.45%, at 6,118.62, having fallen more than 1% on Tuesday. | |
Pharmaceutical shares were higher after Pfizer confirmed it had scrapped its planned merger with Allergan. | |
That has led to speculation that other firms in the sector could now be bid targets. Shares in Shire rose 2.6% and AstraZeneca climbed 2.7%. | |
Shares in no-frills airline Easyjet fell 2.2% after it published passenger figures for March. | |
Passenger numbers rose 4.3% from a year earlier to 5,728,114, but its load factor - the percentage of seats occupied - slipped 1.3% to 91.3%. | Passenger numbers rose 4.3% from a year earlier to 5,728,114, but its load factor - the percentage of seats occupied - slipped 1.3% to 91.3%. |
Easyjet said it had cancelled 611 flights last month, with most due to strike action in France. | Easyjet said it had cancelled 611 flights last month, with most due to strike action in France. |
On the currency markets, the pound fell nearly a cent against the dollar to $1.4072, and dropped 0.3% against the euro to €1.2400. |