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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

Europe open: Pharma shares hit as Trump appoints Kennedy to head health

(Sharecast News) - European equity markets opened weaker on Friday with pharma stocks lower on news that Robert F. Kennedy Jr - who has made misleading statements on vaccines - had been appointed as Donald Trump's head of health. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.79% at 502.88 in early deals with all major bourses in the red.

Trump late on Thursday nominated Kennedy, who last year said he believe autism was caused by vaccines, to lead the Department of Health and Human Services in his new administration when it takes power next January.

Pharmaceutical stocks such as GSK, Sanofi, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum, UCB, Sartorius Stedim, Zealand Pharma and Roche were all knocked by the news.

In positive news for the sector, shares in Evotec surged as the German drug developer received an €11-per-share offer from Halozyme Therapeutics, valuing the company at about €2bn.

Generali also jumped as the Italian insurer posted better-than-expected 9-month profits.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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