FTSE 100 rises as AstraZeneca lifts healthcare sector

FTSE 100 Surges on AstraZeneca-Summit Deal, Lifting Healthcare and Market Confidence

Market Overview and Key Movers

Sept 29 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 rose on Tuesday, lifted by pharmaceutical stocks after AstraZeneca agreed to take a $2 billion stake in Summit Therapeutics to advance cancer research.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.34% to 10,721.48 points by 0925 GMT, while the midcap FTSE 250 climbed 0.24%.

Healthcare Sector Drives Gains

• Pharma sector advanced 1.5%. AstraZeneca gained 1.7% to a two-month high after it said it would invest $2 billion in Summit Therapeutics and collaborate on a series of studies testing their cancer treatments together. Peer GSK also climbed 1.7%

Industrial and Commodity Sectors

• Industrial metals rebounded 1.3% after falling more than 1% on Monday, tracking a recovery in copper prices. Miners Glencore and Anglo American added 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively [MET/L]

• Oil prices rose, leading traders to sharply reprice interest rate expectations and keeping global bond yields at multi-decade highs [O/R]

Bond Yields and Interest Rates

• Still, the yield on the British benchmark 10-year gilt eased on Tuesday after climbing to its highest level since 2007 in the previous session

Other Notable Movers

• Among other movers, Vesuvius surged 21.7%, topping the FTSE 250 after Austria-based RHI Magnesita N.V proposed to buy the metal flow engineering firm in a cash-and-stock bid

• British American Tobacco slipped 1.7% after warning its annual growth is likely to come in at the lower end of its forecast range

• Close Brothers jumped 11.2% after the lender reported annual adjusted operating profit of £120.3 million ($159.08 million), ahead of a company-compiled consensus of £111 million

Economic Data and Outlook

• On the data front, British shop price inflation slowed slightly in September despite cost pressures on retailers from the Iran ‌war, according to a survey from the British Retail Consortium, prompting calls for greater government support

• Investors are also awaiting second-quarter GDP data due later this week for clues on the health of the UK economy

Currency and Reporting Notes

($1 = 0.7562 pounds)

(Reportng by Anand Gopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)