Terrorism drives FTSE lower

With little in the way of positive company news out today, most investors were repositioning their portfolios in the wake of this weekend's bombings on the island of Bali in Indonesia, helping drive the FTSE 100 index down 21.80 points to 3,931.60 by the close. Major pharmaceutical stocks tried to pull the index up, following a major patent win by AstraZenica. That stock gained 272p to £23.40 today following a US court decision to extend the patent of its best-selling ulcer drug. Peer GlaxoSmithKline was not far behind with a 25p gain to £13.28. But the pharmaceu...