By Patrick Munnelly, Market Strategist, Tickmill
The FTSE100 index ended Monday down 4.27 points (0.06%) at 7527.76
Headwinds drag on FTSE in Q2
Despite reaching record highs earlier this year, the UK’s FTSE 100 experienced a decline in the April-June period due to volatile commodity prices and persistent inflation concerns, which led to expectations of further monetary policy tightening.
Monday morning saw the FTSE 100 rise supported by shares in mining stocks which benefited from higher metal prices, while Chinese-exposed companies were bolstered by hopes of additional policy support from Beijing.
FTSE 100 biggest movers
Industrial metal miners led the gains with a 2.3% increase, supported by the rise in base metal prices and improved market sentiment. Anglo American LON:AAL saw its shares rise by 4.32% and emerged as the second top gainer on the FTSE 100 after Ocado LON:OCDO (5.95%). This positive movement was attributed to the company’s subsidiary, De Beers Group, reaching a new diamond sales agreement with the Botswana government.
The early gains in the blue chip index reversed in the afternoon as shares of AstraZeneca LON:AZN a leading pharmaceutical company and FTSE heavyweight, have fallen by 8.0% after the company announced that an experimental precision drug, developed jointly with Daiichi Sankyo of Japan, showed slower progression of lung cancer in a late-stage trial. However, analysts have expressed concerns that the benefits of the drug may not be as significant as anticipated. AstraZeneca reported “some” fatal adverse events during the trial, which has raised additional concerns. Jefferies, the brokerage firm, noted limited details and the occurrence of related deaths as issues for AstraZeneca.
The London-listed shares of AstraZeneca are on track to record their worst day since November 12, 2021, and the shares hit their lowest level since March 22. Prior to this decline, the London-listed shares had been down approximately 2% year-to-date, while the U.S.-listed shares had experienced an increase of around 3% in the same period.
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