The FTSE 100 index closed roughly flat on Monday after a session dragged by weakness in its heavyweight pharmaceuticals stocks. After Rolls-Royce, AstraZeneca--London's largest company by market capitalization--and GSK were the biggest fallers in the session, losing over 2% each. These would stem from vertical integration, scale and efficiencies in supply chain and administration, and complementary offerings, he says. "European equity markets appeared to like Panetta's comments," writes Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 underperforms, however, falling 0.1% as rate cuts from the Bank of England are likely to come later.

Source: Wall Street Journal February 12, 2024 17:08 UTC