JEFFERSON CITY (dpa-AFX) - The pharmaceutical and agrochemical company Bayer must pay significantly less than expected in a lawsuit over the weedkiller Roundup (glyphosate). As court documents revealed on Friday, Judge Daniel Green in Jefferson City (Missouri) reduced the damages awarded by the jury to the three plaintiffs from a total of 1.5 billion US dollars to 600 million dollars.

This was well received by investors. Bayer shares initially jumped in New York trading and rose by two percent. The shares then crumbled again and ended a good one percent lower. Before the news, however, they had been trading noticeably lower./he/ajx