Stagecoach tipped for the future

There were several strong performances by travel and tourism shares yesterday as London’s equity markets pushed ahead. The FTSE 100 index gained 27.9 points to close at 4456.8, while the FTSE 250 did even better, rising 49.7 points to end the day at 6209.1. The best performances came from British Airways, which gained 10p to close at 290p, and lastminute.com, up 11p at 207p. One significant move came at Stagecoach, which gained 1.75p to 77.25p after a broker’s recommendation. According to The Guardian newspaper, Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said the firm has prospects of a “significant capital return”, justifying a target share price of 100p. Alpha Airports 74p UP 1.5p BAA 527.5p UP 2.5p British Airways 290p UP 10p Carnival 2458p UP 82p De Vere 404.75p DOWN 3.25p EasyJet 313.25p UP 3.75p Ebookers 425p UP 1p EuroDisney 27.5p DOWN 2p Eurotunnel 35.5p DOWN 1.5p First Choice 131.25p UP 1.75p Hilton Group 219.75p UP 4.75p Holidaybreak 572p UP 0.5p Intercontinental 507.5p UP 0.5p Lastminute.com 207p UP 11p MyTravel 14.75p UP 0.75p P&O 226.5p UP 8.25p Rank Group 311.75p DOWN 0.25p Ryanair 296p DOWN 3.375p Stagecoach 77.25p UP 1.75p TBI 66.75p UP 1.75p Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad