AstraZeneca drags down FTSE 100

Drugmaker AstraZeneca has seen its share price plummet more than 15% after announcing disappointing results.The firm said first-quarter revenue fell 10% to $5.05bn (£3.84bn). It also reported a major setback in trials of a new lung cancer drug therapy. The company was by far the biggest loser on the benchmark FTSE 100 share index, which was down 15.5 points, or 0.21%, to 7,436.82 in early Thursday trading. Top gainer on the index was drinks giant Diageo, which rose 4.7% after reporting higher full-year sales and profits. The maker of Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka reported sales of £12.05bn for the year ending 30 June, a rise of 4% on an organic basis, while operating profit rose to £3.6bn.Mining firm Anglo American also made strong gains, adding 3.7% after saying it was resuming dividend payments six months early on the back of healthy interim results.In the currency market, the pound edged higher against the dollar, up 0.12% at $1.3138. Against the euro, the pound was 0.29% higher at 1.1204 euros.
Source: BBC News

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