Navartis AG (NVS) posted third-quarter results on Thursday, signaling sales plummeted on the back of the loss of U.S. patent on its top selling blood pressure drug Diavan and lower sales at its Sandoz unit.

The Swiss drug maker sales third-quarter sales dropped 2 percent to $13.807 billion, trailing analysts` median estimates of $14.032 billion, while third-quarter core earnings fell as expected by 6 percent to $1.34 a share.

Navartis dropped 0.52 percent, or 0.32 points, to 61.39 euros after the announcement, as the drug maker struggles to avert risks from a wave of patent expiries spinning out the global pharmaceutical industry.

Diavon sales fell 32 percent in the third quarter to $969 million since it went off patent in the U.S on September 21, while sales at its generic division Sandoz dropped 6 percent to $2 billion amid rising competition for generic enoxparin.

Navartis affirmed its outlook of this year, saying the strong dollar should pare about 3 to 4 percent off full-year sales and 2 to 3 percent off operating profit, slightly less of an impact to forecast of a quarter ago.

The United Kingdom’s economy rebounded into growth in the third quarter beating expectations, supported by the Olympic games support and accelerating services growth.  

Gross domestic product in the U.K. advanced unexpectedly by 1.0 percent in the third quarter, following a decline of 0.4 percent in the second quarter, beating analysts` median estimate of 0.6 percent gain.

From a year earlier, GDP rose to 0.0 percent from -0.5 percent and expected.

The U.K. returned to growth on the quarter with 1.0% expansion following three consecutive quarterly contractions, positing the fastest quarterly growth in five years.

The positive data dimmed expectations for a move from the BoE in November and a direct decision to expand the asset purchases as the latest extension announced in July expires this month.

Money supply in euro zone rose 3.0 percent in the three months ending September, from the prior revised 3.1 percent, missing median forecast of 3.1 percent.

On the year, M3 rose 2.7% down from the previous month at 2.9% and the expected 3.0% rise. 

The M3 Money Supply Index tracks the flow of funds within the financial markets among systems such as the bank`s deposits, repurchase agreements and debt securities.

Most Asian stocks advanced on Thursday after improvement in China’s factory output and the U.S. housing market boosted confidence.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.3% to 122.38 at 14:20 in Tokyo.

The U.S. data showed Wednesday that sales of new homes surged in September, suggesting that the economy is gaining momentum, allowing sentiment to improve, especially as the weaker corporate earnings have already been priced in.

Gains however were limited as the Federal Reserve confirmed yesterday that unemployment remains elevated while the economy continues to suffer slow growth and pressure from weak fiscal policies.

In Japan Nikkei 225 rose 1.13% to 9055.20 and Topix rose 1.10% to 751.42 as the upbeat US data and expectations that BoJ will ease its monetary policy next week lowered demand for the safe haven yen, improving the outlook for exporters.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.06% to 21750.85 and China’s CSI 300 fell 0.72% to 2291.24 on profit taking transactions and disappointing earnings. Afternoon

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.10% to 4510.50. New Zealand’s NZX 50 fell 0.27% to 3990.49. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.55% to 1924.50. The Taiwan Taiex fell 0.27% to 7262.08. India’s BSE Sensex 30 rose 0.22 to 18751.69.

Singapore’s FTSE Strait Times rose 0.30% to 3053.73. Thailand’s Thai index fell 0.17% to 1292.74. Jakarta Comp fell 0.04% to 4333.82. Philippine’s PSEi rose 0.12% to 5405.16. FTSE Malaysia rose 0.08% to 1669.34.