Drug makers took center stage in European trading Tuesday, with shares of AstraZeneca PLC climbing on news of a potential takeover bid, and GlaxoSmithKline PLC rising as it sells one of its units in a multibillion-dollar deal.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.8% to 335.22, as investors returned from a four-day Easter holiday break to a slate of developments in the pharmaceutical sector.
Gains for Glaxo helped the U.K.’s FTSE 100 index rise 0.8%. Germany’s DAX 30 pushed 1% and France’s CAC 40 index advanced 0.6%.
Topping advancers was AstraZeneca, with shares pulled up by 6.7% following a Daily Telegraph report that the British drug maker has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to advise it if Pfizer Inc. were to again attempt talks with the company about a takeover bid.
U.S.-listed shares of AstraZeneca surged 8.8% on Monday following a report by the Sunday Times of London that Pfizer — the largest drug maker in the U.S. — had approached AstraZeneca about a possible merger.
Stock in Novartis AG advanced 2.1% as the Swiss company on Tuesday outlined changes in its portfolio lineup, including plans to buy GlaxoSmithKline PLC’s oncology unit for about $14.5 billion. Novartis also plans to sell its vaccines unit to Glaxo for $5.25 billion. Glaxo shares bounded up by 4.5%.
Outside of deal news, Philips NV fell 6.6% after the company’s first-quarter profit fell 14%, and as it spoke of a “challenging start to the year.” Net profit for the diversified technology group’s first quarter fell to 138 million euros ($190.5 million) from €161 million in the year-ago period. Revenue fell to €5.02 billion from €5.26 billion a year ago, hurt on currency weakness.
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