FTSE 100 movers: AstraZeneca slides on bid rejection

19th May 2014 15:20

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca slumped after it rejected a 'final proposal' from US rival Pfizer.The offer, which valued the London-listed group at £69bn, would not be increased any further, Pfizer said, adding that it would not pursue a hostile offer and would only announce another offer with the recommendation of AstraZeneca's board.Mining stocks were mostly lower on China slowdown fears, with Rio Tinto among the worst performers. A reduction in risk appetite also hit a number of financials, including Hargreaves Lansdown and Barclays. Babcock International Group appeared to be engaging in a round of profit taking, with the share price fallinng into the bottom 10 despite it reporting a 15% rise in annual pre-tax profit, driven by growth across all divisions. Revenue climbed 9% to £3.5bn in the year to end of March 2014, propelled by the strong performance of the Marine and Technology division which saw revenue rise by 15%. Meanwhile, easyJet and IAG were flying higher on positive read across from figures out from airline peer Ryanair. The Dublin-based group posted a less-than-expected 8% drop in annual profits and forecast a strong first half of the new financial year.Consumer goods giant Unilever rose after revealing it has purchased the rights left in family trusts by William Hesketh Lever, which in 2038 will be convertible into just under 70.88m shares. The transaction will enhance core earnings per share by 2% on a full-year basis, because the share count has been reduced by 2.4%. FTSE 100 - RiserseasyJet (EZJ) 1,569.00p +3.50%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 368.10p +2.74%Mondi (MNDI) 1,022.00p +2.71%Fresnillo (FRES) 853.50p +2.09%Shire Plc (SHP) 3,334.00p +2.08%Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 3,274.00p +1.87%Reed Elsevier (REL) 905.50p +1.80%Meggitt (MGGT) 470.60p +1.77%Aggreko (AGK) 1,728.00p +1.71%Associated British Foods (ABF) 3,055.00p +1.70%FTSE 100 - FallersAstraZeneca (AZN) 4,269.50p -11.49%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,147.00p -2.22%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,224.00p -1.90%Barclays (BARC) 237.70p -1.59%Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 342.70p -1.44%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,620.50p -1.40%Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 450.20p -1.16%Babcock International Group (BAB) 1,175.00p -1.09%Vodafone Group (VOD) 215.00p -0.99%Smith & Nephew (SN.) 918.50p -0.97%NR