London’s FTSE 100 underperformed European peers on Thursday as a sharp fall in AstraZeneca offset strong gains across the mining sector, while investors continued to assess developments in the Middle East.
The FTSE 100 closed down 16.59 points, or 0.2%, at 10,472.45. The FTSE 250 rose 222.92 points, or 1.0%, to 23,240.56, while the AIM All-Share gained 4.18 points, or 0.6%, to 762.25.
AstraZeneca was the biggest drag on the FTSE 100, falling 6.2% after its Wainua treatment failed to meet the primary endpoint in a phase three trial.
AstraZeneca’s fall, particularly significant given its position as the second-largest company in the FTSE 100 by market value, offset strong performances from major mining stocks.
Anglo American climbed 5.8%, Antofagasta rose 5.4%, and Glencore gained 4.2% as metal prices moved higher.
Gold traded at USD4,126.64 an ounce, up from USD4,022.15 on Wednesday. Silver gained 3.5%, while copper rose 2.7%.
European markets performed better, with both the CAC 40 in Paris and Germany’s DAX 40 closing 0.9% higher.
Wall Street was also in positive territory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.3%, the S&P 500 gaining 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite advancing 0.7%.
PepsiCo fell 3.5% after reporting mixed second-quarter results. The food and beverage group posted attributable net income of USD2.98 billion, more than double the USD1.26 billion reported a year earlier.
Net revenue rose 6.4% to USD24.18 billion, although organic revenue growth of 2.4% came in slightly below consensus expectations of 2.6%.
Oil prices eased despite renewed fighting between the US and Iran.
Brent crude for September delivery fell to USD77.03 a barrel from USD80.00 on Wednesday as investors assessed comments from US President Donald Trump, who said he expected the latest military flare-up to end quickly and suggested Tehran remained interested in reaching a deal.
US Treasury yields moved lower, with the 10-year yield easing to 4.55% from 4.60% and the 30-year yield falling to 5.06% from 5.09%.
Back in London, Computacenter jumped 7.2% after saying it expects full-year results to come in comfortably ahead of market expectations following strong trading in the second quarter.
The technology services provider said North American performance was boosted by stronger-than-expected volume growth with hyperscaler customers across both its Technology Sourcing and Professional Services businesses.
Computacenter now expects adjusted pre-tax profit for the full year to come in comfortably ahead of the current market expectation of £313.7 million, compared with £272.0 million in 2025.
On the FTSE 250, Playtech surged 14% after forecasting 2026 results above market expectations, supported by what it described as an excellent performance in the US.
The gambling software group now expects adjusted EBITDA of EUR270 million, significantly above the current analyst consensus range of EUR205 million to EUR225 million.
Capita plunged 21% after warning that failures linked to its Civil Service Pension Scheme contract could reduce adjusted operating profit by up to £40 million this year.
Chief executive Adolfo Hernandez acknowledged that service on the contract had not been good enough.
Bango climbed 21% after reporting strong recurring revenue growth and improved profitability during the first half.
The digital payments company expects first-half revenue of USD25.9 million, up 2.8% from USD25.2 million a year earlier and in line with management expectations.
The biggest FTSE 100 risers were Computacenter, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore and Endeavour Mining.
The biggest fallers were AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, British American Tobacco and Babcock International.
Friday’s global economic calendar includes unemployment data from Canada and consumer price inflation figures from France and Germany.
In the UK corporate calendar, MJ Gleeson and Hays are scheduled to issue trading updates.
