Early market roundup: UK pharma stocks suffer; Brent oil price rises

London’s blue chip index was dragged down by pharma stocks on Wednesday morning after AstraZeneca and GSK reported first-quarter results; meanwhile the price of Brent oil picked up again.

The FTSE 100 index opened down 60.16 points, 0.6%, at 10,272.63. The FTSE 250 was up 13.53 points, 0.1%, at 22,413.24, and the AIM all-share was up 3.77 points, 0.5%, at 790.67.

The Cboe UK 100 was down 0.5% at 1,024.07, the Cboe UK 250 was down 0.1% at 19,479.63, and the Cboe small companies was up 0.8% at 18,119.68.

In European equities on Wednesday, the CAC 40 in Paris was down 0.4%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt marginally lower.

Energy markets remained volatile. The United Arab Emirates is set to withdraw from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, also known as Opec, in a move that deals a blow to the oil cartel at a time when the Iran war continues to roil global energy markets.

The UAE’s energy minister told CNN that the decision had been taken now because the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz would limit the immediate impact on the oil market.

Meanwhile, mediators in Pakistan expect to receive a revised peace proposal from Iran in the coming days, after US President Donald Trump indicated he would not accept an earlier version.

Brent oil was trading at $106.27 a barrel early Wednesday, higher compared with $104.28 late Tuesday.

In currency markets, the pound was quoted at $1.3508 early Wednesday, edging up from $1.3505 at the London equities close on Tuesday. Against the euro, sterling fell to €1.1543 from €1.3505 a day prior. The euro traded at $1.1703, lower than $1.1709. Against the yen, the dollar was quoted at JP¥159.67 versus JP¥159.61.

In London’s blue-chip index, DCC, a provider of sales, marketing and distribution services to the energy sector, continued to be at the top after leading on Tuesday’s session, rising 6.0%.

At the other end of the index, St James’s Place fell 5.8% despite reporting higher funds under management in the first quarter, supported by steady inflows and client retention.

The wealth manager said funds under management rose to £216.95 billion at March 31 from £188.59 billion a year earlier, despite market volatility. Gross inflows edged up to £5.23 billion from £5.14 billion, while net inflows declined to £1.53 billion from £1.69 billion, reflecting weaker market returns and higher outflows.

The funds under management retention rate remained broadly stable at 95.3%, compared with 95.0% a year earlier. St James’s Place described the period as a ‘good start’ to the year.

It was also a busy session for healthcare names. Pharmaceutical firm GSK dropped 2.8% after reporting higher first-quarter profit, supported by strong growth in Specialty Medicines.

Turnover rose to £7.63 billion in the three months to March 31 from £7.52 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit edged up to £2.14 billion from £2.11 billion, while earnings per share increased to 43.2 pence from 39.7p.

It declared a quarterly dividend of 17p per share, up from 16p a year earlier, and continued its £2 billion share buyback programme, with £1.7 billion already completed.

Haleon fell 2.5% after reporting first-quarter revenue up 0.1% to £2.86 billion, or 2.2% on an organic basis, while reiterating 2026 guidance for organic revenue growth between 3% and 5%.

AstraZeneca lost 0.8% despite first-quarter profit climbing thanks to strong sales of its cancer drugs.

On the FTSE 250, Ceres Power jumped 18%, while Oakley Capital Investments gained 3.3% after reporting net asset value per share of 758p at March 31 and a first-quarter NAV total return of 2.7%.

Aston Martin rose 2.5% after reporting first-quarter revenue up 16% to £270.4 million from £233.9 million, helped by higher Specials deliveries.

Pretax loss narrowed to £65.5 million from £79.6 million, while gross margin improved to 34.7% from 27.9%, supported by higher average selling prices. Wholesale volumes were broadly flat at 939 vehicles.

The luxury carmaker maintained its full-year 2026 outlook and expects gross margin to rise to the high 30% range from 29% last year, with free cash outflow expected to materially improve.

In a rare boost for London’s markets, which have seen an exodus of listings in recent years, PureTech Health fell 3.0% despite announcing plans to delist from Nasdaq and concentrate its listing fully in London.

The Boston-based biotech said the move would simplify its structure, reduce costs and better align with its UK-focused investor base. Separately, PureTech swung to a 2025 pretax loss of $110.9 million from a $23.8 million profit, as other income dropped sharply to $36.6 million from $163.7 million.

Jet2 rose 0.9% after saying it is maintaining close dialogue with fuel suppliers and airport partners to manage supply risks as the Iran war weighs on the sector.

The company noted booking patterns have shifted, with customers booking closer to departure since the conflict began. Despite this, passengers booked to date are up 6.2% year-on-year, with summer 2026 capacity 7.7% higher at 19.9 million seats.

Jet2 said 87% of its summer fuel requirement is hedged. For the full year, it expects operating profit between £435 million and £440 million, compared with £446.5 million a year earlier.

In Asia on Wednesday, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.7%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 1.7%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney closed down 0.3%.

In the US on Tuesday, Wall Street ended lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.1%, the S&P 500 down 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite down 0.9%.

Attention now turns to central banks. The US Federal Reserve is due to announce its interest rate decision at 1900 BST, with consensus expecting a hold at 3.75%.

The Bank of Canada is also set to deliver its rate decision at 1445 BST, with markets anticipating no change from 2.25%.

On Thursday, focus will shift to the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.36%, unchanged from Tuesday. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was at 4.95%, narrowing from 4.96%.

Gold was quoted at $4,567.19 an ounce early Wednesday, lower compared with $4,579.32 on Tuesday.

Still to come on Wednesday’s economic calendar, the eurozone will publish economic and industrial sentiment indices. Ireland reports harmonised CPI, GDP and retail sales, while Germany releases CPI data.

In the US, attention turns to wholesale inventories, durable goods orders and building permits.

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