Pharmaceutical firms lead FTSE 100 higher
Monday 27th April 2009, 4:53PM BST.
Pharmaceutical firms led the FTSE 100 slightly higher to end at 4,167.01 as fears over the effect of swine flu on the world economy faded in afternoon trading.
Investors were still concerned over the tourist sector, however. Falls at British Airways, which was down by 7.75 per cent, and Thomas Cook, down 3.8 per cent, offset the gains.
Pharmaceutical firms were the winners on the index. GlaxoSmithKline rose 6.26 per cent, while AstraZeneca shares ended the day 4.43 per cent higher.
“Market reaction to the flu news has been quite muted so far, and after weathering the likes of SARS and bird flu in recent years, there seems to be an element of wait-and-see amongst traders.
“At the moment there’s still a distinct lack of enthusiasm to push the market in any meaningful direction,” said Anthony Grech, market strategist for IG Index.
Defensive stocks also performed well over the day, with a 4.21 per cent rise at National Grid, a 3.94 per cent rise at Scottish & Southern Energy and a 2.89 per cent rise at United Utilities.
In the US, the stock markets fell immediately after opening as investors considered the effect of the Mexican swine flu outbreak, but the S&P 500 and Dow Jones started to climb again by mid-morning.
Shropshire Star on Twitter
Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
Entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.
OUR NEW APP
Get the new Shropshire Star app
Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
shropshirestar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
