FTSE 100 gains on upbeat AstraZeneca results

(Reuters) – London’s FTSE 100 gained on Thursday boosted by drugmaker AstraZeneca’s upbeat quarterly results and as information group Relx planned to raise its dividend.

COVID-19 vaccine maker AstraZeneca rose 1.1% and was the top boost to the FTSE 100 after it beat analyst’s estimates for fourth-quarter product sales and also forecast revenue growth in 2021.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.2%, with automakers and mining stocks leading gains. The mid-cap index was flat.

Weighing on sentiment was a sharp drop in Britain’s housing market in January as the country went back into a coronavirus lockdown and as a tax break for buyers neared its expiry, a survey showed.

Homebuilder stocks dropped 0.2%.

European information business provider Relx gained 1.2% after it said it planned to raise its dividend by 3% after predicting a return to pre-COVID-19 profit trends in 2021.

Retailer Ted Baker plunged 6% after reporting a 47% fall in fourth-quarter revenue, as stores in Britain were shut during the latest coronavirus lockdown and due to weak demand during the Christmas season.

(Reporting by Shashank Nayar in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)