Astra drop sends FTSE 100 lower

The FTSE 100 fell sharply on Monday amid fading investor hopes that AstraZeneca would agree a blockbuster takeover by US giant Pfizer.

Shares in Astra slumped as much as 15pc and were trading down 10.7pc in mid-morning deals after the pharmaceuticals group rejected what Pfizer described as a “final” offer of 55 pounds a share.

The drugmaker was the heaviest faller in London’s benchmark index, which itself lost 43 points, or 0.6pc, to 6,812, having touched a 14-year high last week. The plunge in Astra shares alone took almost 26 points off the FTSE 100.

“All attention is focused on AstraZeneca this morning,” said Brenda Kelly, chief market strategist at spreadbetting firm IG.

“Such a big move in a weighty stock like Astra is bound to leave the index floundering but it is merely a symptom of a wider problem, namely that the market remains directionless after the highs of last week.”

Worries about slowing growth in the Chinese economy, stoked by unsettling data from the world’s second-biggest economy, added to investor nervousness on Monday, while news of Deutsche Bank’s €8bn capital raise has weighed on British banking shares.

Barclays slid 1.9pc, Lloyds Banking Group declined 1.5pc and Royal Bank of Scotland fell 1.3pc.

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