Legal & General, AstraZeneca and Premier Veterinary Group

“Equities and sterling recovered some lost ground after the falls sustained following the Brexit vote and despite the UK losing its 'AAA' credit rating,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

Legal & General was one of the strongest blue-chip performers following a resilient trading update. L&G reduced its exposure to riskier classes before last week’s referendum as the group had felt there was a 50:50 probability that Leave would win. The group’s solvency II capital ratio – a measure of the capital insurers need to have to cope with their worst expected losses – has fallen by only 3 percentage points to 156% due to volatility after the Brexit vote.

L&G’s strategy is based on five long term growth drivers - ageing populations, globalisation of asset markets, creation of new real assets, welfare reform and digital – which remain substantially unaffected by the EU referendum result. L&G’s shares were up by nearly 9% in lunchtime trading

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca's shares rose after the European Commission approved the use of the group’s new antibiotic Zavicefta. The drug has been developed in response to the urgent need for new antibiotics to fight serious infections that are becoming increasingly resistant to existing treatments. AstraZeneca's shares were up by more than 5%.

Premier Veterinary Group’s shares jumped by over 30% on a major US deal for its preventative healthcare programme for pets, branded Premier Pet Care Plan. The group’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Premier Vet Alliance, has signed a deal with Merritt Veterinary Supplies which has 9,000 member hospitals in the south-eastern US.  The deal will enhance the group’s growth and market share significantly.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.