London stocks rise as AstraZeneca drug gets FDA nod; Currys soars

LONDON, Feb 20 — British equities kicked off the week on an upbeat note, boosted by gains in pharma and biotech shares following the US FDA’s approval of AstraZeneca’s lung cancer drug, while Currys soared on takeover interest from JD.com and Elliot. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index climbed 0.2 per cent to a near seven-week high, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index edged 0.1 per cent higher. Trading volumes were low globally as US markets were shut for a public holiday. AstraZeneca topped the benchmark index with a 3.2 per cent jump after a combination of the drugmaker’s cancer drug Tagrisso with chemotherapy to treat a type of lung cancer was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. A…