Sector movers: Thos. Cook drags travel sector south

3rd Apr 2012 14:37

London has been enjoying a sleepy day, with no major blockbusting moves among the blue-chips.There has been a bit of news-flow affecting the pharmaceuticals sector, with drugs developers Glaxo and Astra both announcing developments.GlaxoSmithKline has received top-line results from seven of the eight 'Harmony' drug development Phase III studies investigating the use of albiglutide in type 2 diabetes. Glaxo said that based on the studies it has performed so far, there is enough information to support progression to regulatory submissions, as a possible once-weekly treatment for type 2 diabetes. As well as the full data set from the Harmony 6, 7 and 8 development programme studies and the two-year data currently in-house from the five ongoing studies, a meta-analysis of cardiovascular safety data will be required to complete the registration package, consistent with US Food and Drug Administration guidelines.Anglo-Swedish drugs colossus AstraZeneca is teaming up with US biotechnology company Amgen to jointly develop and bring to market a portfolio of clinical-stage inflammation treatments.In the Travel & Leisure sector Thomas Cook is having a hard time of it. UBS issued a broker note today which drew attention to the problem the group is having controlling costs."Thomas Cook delivered an encouraging update from a top-line perspective, with bookings and pricing both proving resilient. However, the key takeaway was in the EBIT [earnings before interest and tax] guidance, which at £200-210m was 20% below consensus and represented an EBIT margin of c2%, down from 3.1% in 2011. This suggests that cost control remains tough, and we reduce our EBIT forecasts by 18% and 7% for 2012/13," UBS revealed.Top performing sectors so far todayPersonal Goods 23,989.07 +2.09%Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 9,757.92 +0.45%Industrial Transportation 2,551.93 +0.44%Technology Hardware & Equipment 825.83 +0.43%Industrial Metals & Mining 4,162.59 +0.40%Bottom performing sectors so far todayHousehold Goods & Home Construction 7,151.68 -0.98%Construction & Materials 3,538.58 -0.94%Media 4,440.03 -0.91%Life Insurance 4,454.14 -0.67%Travel & Leisure 4,627.37 -0.67%