(Reuters) – UK’s FTSE 100 opened higher on Tuesday, boosted by gains in AstraZeneca following the drugmaker’s tie-up with a biotech firm and a rise in commodity-linked shares, while investors continued to watch developments around the Ukraine crisis.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.5% in early trade, while the domestically focussed mid-cap index rose 0.2%.
AstraZeneca Plc jumped 2.5% after it agreed with Swiss biotechnology company Neurimmune to develop an antibody-based therapy for a rare, underdiagnosed condition that can lead to heart failure in a deal valued up to $760 million.
High-level talks between Russia and Ukraine on Monday ended with no resolution other than to continue talking, but Asian markets steadied on signs of no immediate escalation of Western sanctions on Moscow. [MKTS/GLOB]
The London Stock Exchange said it would stop trading in two global depository receipts for Russia’s VTB Bank after Britain’s financial regulator suspended them in response to sanctions.
(Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
