Astrazeneca Cancer Drug Trial Helps Pharmaceutical Industry

Astrazeneca led the way on the FTSE 100 this morning as London’s leading stock market index was on course to finish the week at a seven-week high.

The pharmaceutical company surged 223½p to £49.69¼ after announcing positive results from trials of a lung cancer drug. Plans to run Imfinzi past regulators are "under active discussion," it said. Executives added that they hoped to bring the drug to market as soon as possible.

Shares in Astra's peers benefited from the news. Shire put on 79p to £47.61½ and Glaxosmithkline advanced 20½p to £16.47½. Hikma Pharmaceuticals continued to tumble, however, losing a further 18p to £17.76½ after US regulators rejected its generic version of Glaxosmithkline’s blockbuster inhaler.

Overall the FTSE 100 index was trading up 13.07 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 7,399.7.

Lloyds Banking Group found itself at the bottom of the index, shedding a penny to 68½p, as the government prepared to sell down its remaining 0.25 per cent stake. The Times revealed this morning that the bank is to pay about £80 million to more than 7,000 customers who were mis-sold investment products.

The FTSE 250 was back on the rise, climbing 14.17 points or 0.07 per cent to 19,809.86. Ibstock led the way, gaining 9¼p to 240¼p after Berenberg initiated coverage with a "buy" rating and a target price of 310p. Wizz Air Holdings was also boosted by a note from Investec, which lifted its target price for the budget carrier from £19.20 to £21.10, boosting its shares by 46p to £19.03.

Signs of turbulence at Aggreko sent its shares down 5p to a new five-month low of 822p. The world’s largest temporary power provider informed investors that the boss of its power solutions division had left “by mutual agreement”. His successor will get to work on Monday. Evraz, the steel mills group where Roman Abramovich is the largest shareholder, endured the sharpest fall in the mid-caps, losing 9½p to 191½p.