FTSE 100 movers: Standard Chartered lifted while AstraZeneca sinks

The FTSE 100 was treading water on Tuesday afternoon, managing to keep itself in the black in contrast to its sibling index.

Emerging markets-exposed bank Standard Chartered was among the top performers, as investors showed their approval of the bank’s ongoing turnaround. It posted a 59% drop in first quarter profit early on Tuesday amid depressed commodity prices, volatility in Chinese markets and weak emerging market sentiment, but a drop in loan impairments had investors seemingly pleased.

“If the bank can hit the 10% return on equity target, and pay out half of earnings as a dividend, then an attractive yield may one day be possible, given the shares are trading far below book value. However, getting there will be easier said than done,” commented Hargreaves Lansdown head of equity research Steve Clayton.

BP was another winner in afternoon trading, after posting a $485m first quarter replacement cost loss during the morning, down from a $2.1bn profit a year earlier. The firm blamed weak oil prices, with chief executive Bob Dudley saying the company was driving towards its near-term goal of rebalancing BP’s cash flows with operational performance strong.

"Market fundamentals continue to suggest that the combination of robust demand and weak supply growth will move global oil markets closer into balance by the end of the year,” he said.

AstraZeneca was under pressure after trying to sell the market a double whammy of positive news. Before markets opened, it announced that the US Food and Drug Administration had approved its Bevespi Aerosphere inhalation aerosol for treating patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The product - glycopyrrolate and formoterol fumarate - is used for the long-term, maintenance treatment of airflow obstruction in patients with COPD, including chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema.

Later on, the firm revealed Ironwood Pharmaceuticals would buy the US marketing rights for a newly-approved gout drug - Zurampic, or lesinurad - for $265m. The deal, based on consideration upfront of $100m plus up to $165m in sales-related and other milestones, gives Ironwood the rights to sell both Zurampic to treat high levels of uric acid in the blood of gout patients, and a fixed-dose combination of lesinurad and allopurinol.

Fellow pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline remained on its downward trend, after having its ‘hold’ rating reiterated on Monday by Cantor Fitzgerald. The research report put a target price of 1,400p on GSK’s shares, making for a potential 5.56% downside at the time.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Standard Chartered (STAN) 584.90p 12.35%
BP (BP.) 375.90p 4.32%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,715.00p 4.06%
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,064.00p 2.85%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,973.00p 2.81%
Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,125.00p 2.74%
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 69.32p 2.56%
Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 183.70p 2.51%
Whitbread (WTB) 3,962.00p 2.46%
Intu Properties (INTU) 304.00p 2.39%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,011.00p -1.79%
Inmarsat (ISAT) 930.00p -1.74%
Kingfisher (KGF) 359.10p -1.72%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,199.50p -1.70%
Anglo American (AAL) 667.60p -1.69%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,214.00p -1.62%
Glencore (GLEN) 152.55p -1.58%
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,451.50p -1.56%
Relx plc (REL) 1,230.00p -1.20%
Mondi (MNDI) 1,278.00p -1.08%