Market Report: Blue-chip stocks started the week on the back foot

Shire reversed early losses to finish at the top of the Footsie leaderboard

Can they crack the US? That’s been the question on everyone’s lips in the City since Associated British Foods launched Primark across the pond.

But Berenberg analyst Fintan Ryan thinks investors have got a little carried away with September’s store opening in Boston, which propelled ABF’s shares to new all-time highs earlier this month. Mr Ryan cut his recommendation from buy to hold, warning that it is hard to see what will continue to drive the stock higher with just 1 per cent growth forecast for 2016.

The shares fell 24p to 3,284p, but there was a fillip for investors as the number-cruncher revealed the European expansion alone could be worth a staggering 2,750p a share.

Blue-chip stocks started the week on the back foot, with the FTSE 100 down 25.71 points at 6,352.33 as the mining malaise returned.

Anglo American dropped 49.8p to 625.5p, Glencore tumbled 6p to 110p, while BHP Billiton retreated 33.5p to 1,096p, hurt by more industrial woes in China which overrode better-than-expected third-quarter GDP growth of 6.9 per cent.

Shire reversed early losses to finish at the top of the Footsie leaderboard, up 115p to 4,626p. The Irish drug maker found itself among the losers when the US Food and Drug Administration asked it for another clinical study on its dry eye drug, lifitegrast.

But comments from UBS analyst David Evans reassured investors that the delay in receiving the green light was “no big surprise”. Mr Evans, who estimates lifitegrast could be worth $2bn (£1.3bn) in sales to Shire, said he always expected the approval to hinge on the results of its phase 3 study which are due before the year is out.

Women’s clothing retailer Bonmarché Holdings made a solid start to life on the main market after its move from AIM. It rose 4p to 302.5p – more than 50 per cent higher than the 200p it floated at two years ago.

Among the tiddlers, LGO Energy, the former Leni Gas and Oil, crashed 0.25p or 30 per cent to 0.58p as it abandoned its latest well in Trinidad. The loss of production means it is now likely to breach banking covenants.