Sector movers: Astra, Glaxo drag down pharmas

The pharmaceuticals were on the decline today, dragged lower by sector giant AstraZeneca.AstraZeneca warned this morning that earnings will come in at the lower end of expectations after it took a $381.5m hit from failed drug tests. The company has stopped development of its ovarian cancer treatment olaparib and also said its antidepressant compound TC-5214 had not met targets. As a result, AstraZeneca will take pre-tax impairment charges totalling $381.5m to R&D expense in the fourth quarter of 2011, it said. These impairments would push down the company's core earnings per share by around $0.21 in the fourth quarter, it said. This meant that while full year core EPS would remain in the predicted range of $7.20 to $7.40, earnings were likely to be in the lower half of this scale.Sector peer GlaxoSmithKline joined Astra in the red despite announcing that it is to return £242m to shareholders next year after the sale of its non-core Consumer Healthcare OTC brands in the US and Canada for £426m."The disposal of our non-core consumer brands is about realising attractive value for shareholders as well as simplifying our ongoing Consumer business and allowing it to focus on its priority brands and markets," said Chief Financial Officer Simon Dingemans. Heading the other way were media stocks with one of the biggest of them all, advertising giant WPP, providing a lift.Shares in Sir Martin Sorrell's firm were boosted higher today after it announced that it had acquired a 49% stake in Chinese peer Nanjing Yindu Advertising and Commerco Co for an undisclosed sum.The acquisition was made through WPP's advertising and marketing business Ogilvy & Mather and expands this unit's reach into the "crucial" region of Yangtza River Delta. "In strengthening Ogilvy's offering, as it does, in second-tier cities this initiative underlines WPP's regional approach in China, not confined to the coastal region," the statement said. Sector peers ITV, UBM and BSkyB were also lifting the sector higher today.BCTop performing sectors so far todayAutomobiles & Parts 4,044.85 +1.64%Construction & Materials 3,211.55 +1.29%Media 3,849.27 +1.15%Life Insurance 3,673.71 +0.98%Industrial Engineering 6,794.32 +0.77%Bottom performing sectors so far todayPharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 9,741.72 -1.85%Tobacco 33,999.55 -0.83%Electronic & Electrical Equipment 2,530.28 -0.70%Equity Investment Instruments 5,208.74 -0.63%Beverages 9,922.19 -0.59%