FTSE 100 falls as AstraZeneca weighs; slowing wage growth cements rate cut bets

(Reuters) – London’s FTSE 100 inched lower on Tuesday amid broad declines, with AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) weighing on the benchmark index while cooling wage growth in the UK cemented bets for further interest rate cuts by the Bank of England.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.6% by 0712 GMT, after logging its best day in over a month on Monday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was off 0.1%.

The pharma and biotech sector hit its lowest level in more than a month, weighed down by AstraZeneca, that shed 5.4%.

Detailed results from one of the drugmaker’s key lung cancer trials on Monday showed that its experimental precision drug did not significantly improve overall results in patients.

Medical equipment and services followed with a 0.9% decline.

Heavyweight energy shares slipped 0.2% tracking lower oil prices. [O/R]

Meanwhile, British pay growth cooled in the three months to July to a more than two-year low and employment shot higher.

“With wage growth easing off again, it will cement expectations that the Bank of England will deliver two interest rate cuts by the end of the year. There will be relief that the labour market is on the way to cooling down,” Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown said in a note.

For the week, investor focus will turn to key inflation figures in the United States and Britain’s gross domestic product numbers for more clues on the policy easing path of the central banks ahead of their meetings this month.

Among other stocks, Centamin surged 22.3% after global miner AngloGold Ashanti said it will buy Centamin in a $2.5 billion deal.

This pulled up precious metal miners that led gains with a 6.2% rise.

IQE tumbled 11.3% after the semiconductor wafer maker said it saw its annual performance at the lower end of analysts’ expectations.