Advertisement
UK markets close in 4 hours 18 minutes
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.37
    +20.39 (+0.26%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,862.70
    +52.04 (+0.26%)
     
  • AIM

    743.48
    +1.37 (+0.18%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1696
    +0.0027 (+0.23%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2621
    -0.0017 (-0.13%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    55,843.85
    +176.07 (+0.32%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,248.49
    +44.91 (+0.86%)
     
  • DOW

    39,760.08
    +477.75 (+1.22%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.48
    +1.13 (+1.39%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,233.60
    +20.90 (+0.94%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • DAX

    18,497.03
    +19.94 (+0.11%)
     
  • CAC 40

    8,223.07
    +18.26 (+0.22%)
     

European shares set for 2015's biggest weekly fall despite Novo Nordisk surge

* FTSEurofirst 300 up 0.3 pct after losing 1.9 pct in 2 days

* Novo Nordisk (LSE: 0QIU.L - news) up 13 pct after deciding to submit drug data

* Euro zone shares recover as euro falls back (Recasts, adds quotes)

By Alistair Smout

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - A top index of pan-European shares was set for its biggest weekly drop of the year on Friday, although it snapped a sharp two-day losing streak following a surge in Danish pharmaceuticals firm Novo Nordisk.

At 1446 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 1,580.73 points, but down 1.9 percent for the week - the biggest weekly drop for the index since December.

ADVERTISEMENT

European stocks tumbled in the previous two sessions, with the FTSEurofirst 300 losing 1.9 percent as a rebounding euro currency prompted investors to cash in recent sharp gains.

The FTSEurofirst 300 gave away stronger earlier gains as the euro recovered an early drop on Friday to trade flat.

European shares have rallied in the past six months as investors bet a sharp drop in the currency would boost the region's economy and lift corporate results.

The weekly drop is only the third weekly fall for the FTSEurofirst 300 this year, as the euro has dropped about 20 percent against the dollar over the past year. This is set to give euro zone companies a major lift as roughly 50 percent of their earnings come from outside the region.

The single currency retreated on prospects of a quantitative easing campaign from the European Central Bank, launched this month, contrasting with the trajectory of monetary policy in the United States where the Federal Reserve is seen raising interest rates this year.

"The weaker currency has been very beneficial for the exporters ... Perhaps the euro fell too quickly, and we've seen a pull back in the dollar in recent weeks," James Butterfill, global equity strategist at Coutts, said.

"However, it's likely in the longer term that the euro continues to weaken, which will benefit many of the large caps in Europe that have the greatest foreign revenue exposure."

Novo Nordisk jumped 9.1 percent after it said it would submit interim data from a clinical trial of its new insulin drug Tresiba to U.S. regulators within the next month.

"Because the company's medium-term growth projections depend on U.S. Tresiba this is a positive for sentiment," analysts at Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) said in a note.

Sports retailer Adidas (LSE: 0OLD.L - news) rose 3.5 percent to a nine-month high after a bullish investor day, with a couple of brokers upgrading their target price on the stock.

Mining shares bucked the trend on Friday, with Glencore down 4 percent and Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) falling 4.1 percent.

An industry official said three-quarters of China's domestic iron ore capacity was incurring losses, as a sustained slump in the price of the steelmaking commodity batters higher-cost producers.

Europe bourses in 2015: http://link.reuters.com/pap87v

Asset performance in 2015: http://link.reuters.com/gap87v

Today's European research round-up

(Editing by Alison Williams)