UK: Industry shares fall as FTSE 100 index tries to break elusive 4,000 barrier
Travel shares had a tough time of things yesterday despite London’s equity markets recording small advances.
The elusive 4,000-point barrier was once again missed, even if the FTSE 100 index came as close as possible, closing at 3999.9 after a 12.5-point (or 0.3 per cent) gain. The FTSE 250 index fared better, posting a one per cent gain to close at 4,606.9, 45.1 points ahead. It was a busier day’s trading than of late, with 2.5 billion shares bought and sold by the 6pm count.
Among travel shares there was little cheer for investors. British Airways slumped 2p to close at 136.5p while EasyJet lost 0.75p to end the day at 199.75 – still a good deal closer to the 12-month low of 173.5p than the year-high of 523p. No-frills rival Ryanair fell 6.5p to end at 424p.
MyTravel managed to make a modest gain, adding 0.25p for a 19p finish, while First Choice lost a penny to end the day at 95p. The online retailer Lastminute.com fell 2.25p to close at 120.5p, still close to its 12-month high-point of 125.5p.
