AstraZeneca gets a shot in the arm

HEALTHY drugs giant

Goldman believes copycat versions of AZ's best- selling Losec ulcer drug will not go on sale before the third quarter of 2002, by which time there will be plenty of other good news coming out of AZ about its drugs pipeline.

Crestor, its potential blockbusting cholesterol-lowering drug, is expected to receive US Food & Drug Administration approval for marketing in America before the end of this month.

Iressa, a new cancer drug, is also expected to be given the green light this year. A confident Goldmans reckons AZ will soon be a powerhouse capable of delivering twice the earnings growth of its large peers.

Rival GlaxoSmithKline was also in demand at 1646p, up 25p.

Receding fears that US networking giant Cisco Systems would issue a profits warning to follow IBM's on Monday and better than expected first-quarter earnings from giant retailer Sears Roebuck helped Wall Street jump 130 points in early trading. That buoyed London and the Footsie rose 56.5 before closing 49.5 points higher at 5229.1.

Sterling edged up to $1.4375 and the euro to 61.23p.

Shares had eased initially on escalating tension in the Middle East, which dealers fear could lead to still higher oil prices. If so, the global recovery could stall. Marks & Spencer, 9 3/4p up at 410 1/4p, then sparked a retail-led recovery with impressive fourth-quarter figures. In sympathy, department store Debenhams jumped 16p to 408p and fashion retailer Arcadia 19 1/4p to 349p. Amid vague rumours that one of its major shareholders has received an offer for its stake, Mothercare rose 12 1/2p to 250p.

Persisting rumours of a possible bid from Prudential, up 24p at 744p, helped Royal & SunAlliance climb 7 1/2p higher to 318p. One dealer said that the Pru would tie up a deal before R&SA can sell its fund management arm for £300m.

Royal Caribbean and Carnival takeover target P&O Princess steamed 13p ahead to 469p after creating a new brand, Ocean Village, which will target a younger and more active customer base.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone was sold down to 116p before closing 1p off at 120p following yet more broker downgrades. Financial Spreads, the City spread betting firm, last night quoted 140 (to sell) to 145 (to buy) days before Vodafone falls below £1.

Information giant Reuters cheapened 3p to 534p following the surprise departure of Douglas Atkin, chief executive of its electronic trading operation Instinet.

Buyers were tuning in to push radio group GWR 26p higher to 281p. GWR last month said it had seen an improvement in radio advertising and that March had been one of the strongest months ever for its Classic FM station.

Aberdeen Asset Management lost 6 1/2p to 243 1/2p. UBS Warburg slashed its target price by £1 to 350p and shaved its current-year pretax profit forecast by £9m to £51m because of the disasters in split-capital investment trusts, which have hit several of Aberdeen's funds.

Aim-listed Pennant International firmed 2p to 18 1/2p after winning £2.5m orders from Westland Helicopters for a Mechanical & Weapons Trainer and an Avionics & Electrical Systems Emulator for new 'Lynx 300' helicopters.

Plant hire firm Vp jumped 7p to 99p after confidently stating it is well placed for a satisfactory full-year earnings outcome. Technology minnow OMG, however, plummeted 20p to 42 1/2p after warning that current market expectations for the year to September are unlikely to be met.

BSoftB hardened 1/2p to 19 1/2p following the appointment of KBC Peel Hunt as its broker.

Software company Eyretel improved 8 1/2p to 71p after forecasting revenue growth of 27% for the year just ended.