FTSE slips on poor earnings from AstraZeneca, RBS

UK blue-chip shares slipped further on Friday, weighed down by underwhelming results from AstraZeneca and RBS, while investors remained unsettled due to concerns over the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy. The FTSE 100 index was 0.4% lower by 0805 GMT and was set to end the week with a near 1% fall, but the midcap bourse rose 0.1% as it drew strength from the pound.

As the epidemic in China shows no signs of peaking, global markets may look to central banks to step in and undertake stimulus measures. Last week, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had warned that economic impact from the virus in China could spill over globally. Among corporate news, AstraZeneca dropped nearly 4%, its steepest one-day fall since July 2017, as its quarterly earnings failed to match up to market expectations.

Royal Bank of Scotland fell 3.4% after its new top boss set out a new strategy that included cutting back the size of its loss-making investment bank and renaming the company NatWest.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)