Insurer Prudential PRU.L fell 6.4% after reports said Chinese mainland tax authorities have started levying personal income tax on returns from offshore insurance policies. The weakness also affected Asia focused European banks with HSBC HSBA.L declining 4.7%.
Novo Nordisk NOVOb.CO slid 4.3% despite lifting its full-year sales and profit outlook. Investors instead focused on a narrow sales miss for its new Wegovy pill and a trial setback for its next-generation obesity drug, CagriSema.
"The path to uninterrupted global Wegovy pill supply was not clearly defined. With launches broadening beyond the US and demand building rapidly, manufacturing readiness will be important to sustaining momentum without constraining access or creating uneven market availability," analysts at Citi Research said.
The Danish drugmaker is seeking to regain ground from Eli Lilly LLY.N in the fast-growing obesity-drug market. Once Europe's most valuable listed company in 2024, Novo has lost a substantial share of its market value as expectations for obesity-drug growth have cooled and competition has intensified.
Conversely, Sandoz SDZ.S rose 6%, after the Swiss generic drugmaker reported a 9% jump in second-quarter net sales, driven by strong growth in biosimilars as patents expire for popular medicines.
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