FTSE 100 slips after early rally as GSK shares drag on index
The FTSE was initially boosted by gains for retailers and property giants, with JD Sports and Ocado among the top risers.
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Your support makes all the difference.The FTSE 100 faded after an early rally to close in the red on Monday, dragged down by plummeting shares in pharmaceutical giant GSK.
London’s premier stock exchange finished the day 12.6 points lower, or 0.15%, ending at 8,263.
The index was boosted by gains for retailers and property giants, with JD Sports and Ocado among the top risers.
But a plunge in GSK shares pulled it down, after a US court ruled on Friday that more than 70,000 lawsuits against the company could go ahead over its heartburn drug Zantac. Shares in the drug making giant fell 9.54%.
Meanwhile, it was good news for industrials as the UK’s manufacturing sector sprung back into growth in May, with levels of production surging and business optimism hitting a more than two-year high.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: “The UK’s FTSE 100 is the weakest performer in Europe on Monday.
“The index has been dragged down by GSK, the healthcare giant, which is down more than 8% after one of its drugs for heartburn was reported to cause cancer.
“The healthcare sector is the weakest in the UK on Monday, although it is worth noting that all other sectors are higher, as an initial public offering (IPO) buzz rips through the UK market.”
In Europe, stock markets fared a little better, with Germany’s top share index, the Dax, closing up 0.6%, while France’s Cac 40 rose by 0.06%.
The US’s S&P 500 was down 0.1% by the time European markets closed, while Dow Jones was down 0.71%%.
The pound was up 0.38% against the US dollar at 1.279, and down 0.03% against the euro at 1.175.
UK gas prices hit their highest point in 2024 on Monday, after a pipeline between Norway and Britain was closed because of a crack, which has disrupted supplies to the UK.
The day-ahead price of UK gas jumped 7.2% to 87.7p per therm. At one point in the day, it was trading at 94p per therm, its highest point this year.
Meanwhile, crude oil was down 3.49% to 74.3 dollars per barrel, after Opec announced it would phase out voluntary production cuts totalling 2.2 million barrels per day.
In company news, online fashion giant Shein is reportedly poised to file for a London stock market listing as soon as this week.
The proposed listing by the firm, which was founded in China and headquartered in Singapore, would be one of the largest deals for the LSE in a decade and comes amid a dearth of new firms on the UK’s public markets.
Sky News reported Shein is preparing to file the necessary paperwork – an IPO prospectus – with the Financial Conduct Authority for approval.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were JD Sports, up 6.45p to 133.95p, St James’s Place, up 23.4p to 523p, Entain, up 28p to 703.2p, easyJet, up 15.4p to 475.4p, and Land Securities, up 17.5p to 670p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were GSK, down 164.5p to 1602p, Ashtead, down 172p to 5516p, Pearson, down 15.2p to 932.8p, BP, down 7p to 481.15p, and Compass Group, down 28p to 2164p.