European shares fall as pharma stocks come under fire; Richemont rallies

European shares fell on Friday, weighed down by weaker drugmakers after two US lawmakers called on federal antitrust regulators to open a probe for possible price fixing. A slew of earnings updates also delivered a mixed picture. The US lawmakers on Thursday called for a probe into whether Sanofi, Eli Lilly, Merck and Novo Nordisk colluded to set prices for insulin and other diabetes drugs. Sanofi and Novo Nordisk were down 1.6 and 2.9 percent respectively.
Top faller was Hikma, down 7 percent after HSBC cut its price target citing broader market concerns over a separate US Department of Justice investigation into price collusion in the pharma market. The sector has been hit recently by worries that Hillary Clinton could seek tougher pricing regulation if she wins the race for the White House.
"A Clinton victory could be unhelpful for health care stocks," Citi analysts said in a strategy note. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 1 percent and on track for its biggest weekly fall since February. The index has been hit by growing nervousness before the US presidential election.
"As the presidential election race appears to (be) getting tighter with only a few days left until Americans are going to the polls many traders continuing to reduce their risk exposure further which is also weighing on stocks," Markus Huber, trader at City of London Markets said in a note. Elsewhere market action was driven by earnings updates.
France's Richemont rose 6 percent after the luxury goods group announced a management revamp after sales and core net profit in the six months to September, hit by one-off restructuring charges and product buy-backs. Helvea analyst Andreas von Arx said the key figures were above expectations while other analyst welcomed management comments that sales in October were modestly positive. The company had issued a profit warning in September.
Among outstanding gainers, Ubisoft soared 9.5 percent, topping STOXX gainers, as Kepler Cheuvreux upgrade the French game developer to "buy" after the company lifted its operating profit target. Shares were bosted at Cosmetics giant L'Oreal, whose sales growth beat expectations, and gambling firm Paddy Power, which lifted its full-year profit forecast citing a boost in the sterling value of its euro revenue, this year's merger and favourable sporting results. But French outdoor advertising company JC Decaux fell 7.3 percent after it said organic revenue growth would turn negative in the final quarter of the year and affect margins.