LONDON MARKET MIDDAY: Stocks Down As Clinton Remarks Hit Pharma Sector

LONDON (Alliance News) - Pharmaceutical stocks dragged the FTSE 100 lower midday Thursday, after the sector was hit by comments made by presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, who raised concerns about the price increase of an allergy product by US pharmaceutical company Mylan.

The price of the company's EpiPen product has risen by 480% since the company acquired it in 2007, moving from USD100 for a 2-pack in 2007 to its current cost of around USD600.

"That's outrageous - and it's just the latest troubling example of a company taking advantage of its consumers," said Clinton in a statement published on her Facebook profile. "It's wrong when drug companies put profits ahead of patients, raising prices without justifying the value behind them."

Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said Clinton's comments will cause concern for healthcare groups and their investors everywhere.

"As always, the industry remains between a rock and a hard place, treading the fine line between balancing the costs of clinical success (and failure) with the economic laws of supply and demand, all the while trying (often in vain) to satisfy demanding stakeholders without appearing to view the sick as merely a commercial opportunity," van Dulken said.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals was down 3.6%, Shire down 4.4%, AstraZeneca down 1.8%, and GlaxoSmithKline down 0.7%.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.3%, or 18.32 points, at 6,817.46. The FTSE 250 was down 0.8% at 17,869.99 and the AIM All-Share was down 0.5% at 788.35.

In Europe, the French CAC 40 was down 0.7% and the German DAX 30 was down 0.9%

Futures indicated a lower open for Wall Street, with the DJIA, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 all pointed down 0.1%.

Elsewhere on the London market, CRH was the best performer in the blue-chip index, up 3.4%. The Irish building materials company said its profit came in six times higher than a year earlier in its first half, reflecting continued positive momentum in the Americas and the inclusion of acquisitions made in the second half of 2015.

CRH said trading conditions in the first half in Europe reflected the modest impact of early-stage economic recovery.

In the Americas, the company said it expects the positive momentum seen in construction markets during the first half of the year to continue into the second, while in Asia the positive demand backdrop experienced in the Philippines looks set to continue for the rest of the year.

ITV said it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Entertainment One, after the television and film producer rejected the bid earlier this month.

ITV made an offer for Entertainment One at 236.00 pence per share, valuing it at around GBP1.03 billion, in early August, but this bid was rebuffed by Entertainment One's board as it said it "fundamentally undervalues" the business.

ITV said Thursday that it has a "clear view of the value" of Entertainment One, and it "appears this value is different to the level at which the board of eOne would currently engage in a more formal process."

The broadcaster said it has a "clear strategy to build a stronger, more diversified international business and will continue its disciplined approach to evaluating its healthy pipeline of potential investment opportunities."

ITV traded up 1.5%, while Entertainment One was the biggest faller in the FTSE 250 index, down 12% to 220.21p.

Infrastructure investor John Laing Group said its net asset value rose in the first half of 2016 and maintained its full year guidance for investment commitments.

The company's net asset value per share also rose to 263.00 pence at the end of its first half from 242.00p at the end of December and 224.00p a year earlier.

"These results demonstrate that our business model is delivering consistent results, and has the ability to cope with today's changing macro-economic environment, including the impact of Brexit," said Chief Executive Olivier Brousse.

The stock was one of the best FTSE 250 performers, up 5.6%.

Playtech was up 4.3% after the gaming technology company reported growth in revenue in the first half and declared a special dividend, but said its profit dipped due to higher finance costs hit by the depreciation of sterling.

Playtech added it was "cognisant" of the need for an efficient balance sheet and said its currently high cash balance is complemented by cash from operations.

It added it is able to return cash to shareholders without impact in its outlook on making more acquisitions. As such, it will pay an interim dividend of 11.0 euro cents per share, up 15% from the previous year, and declared a special dividend of a further 46.0 cents per share.

Still ahead in the economic calendar, US initial and continuing jobless claims are at 1330 BST, alongside durable goods data. Markit's US services and composite PMI readings are at 1445 BST.

By Neil Thakrar; neilthakrar@alliancenews.com; @NeilThakrar1

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