Miners, AstraZeneca push FTSE 100 higher; Boohoo slumps

London's FTSE 100 rose on Thursday, led by gains in miners and Astrazeneca, while fashion retailer Boohoo slumped to a 14-month low after it warned higher inflation would hurt margins.

London's FTSE 100 rose on Thursday, led by gains in miners and AstraZeneca, while fashion retailer Boohoo slumped to a 14-month low after it warned higher inflation would hurt margins. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index gained 0.3%, with industrial miners, Astrazeneca and Diageo providing the biggest boosts.

British online fashion retailer Boohoo dropped 9.7% after it warned that freight inflation in its supply chain and higher wages for its distribution centre workers would impact full-year profit margins. AstraZeneca climbed 1% after its COVID-19 vaccine showed 74% efficacy at preventing symptomatic disease in a U.S. trial.

The domestically focussed mid-cap index advanced 0.4% after data showed UK's gross domestic product increased by 5.5% in the second quarter, beating the preliminary estimate of 4.8% growth. Among other stocks, biotech group Oxford Nanopore Technologies opened at 550 pence per share in its London listing, much higher than the offer price of 425 pence.