UK: Industry shares tumble with the rest of the market
It was yet another traumatic day on London’s equity markets yesterday as share prices tumbled across the board.
A general decline throughout the session saw the benchmark FTSE 100 index lose 2.6 per cent of its value, closing 95.2 points down at 3613.3, while the FTSE 250 lost 56.5 points to end the day at 3959.8 – a reverse of 1.4 per cent. Insurance stocks were particularly badly affected, with several well-known names losing more than five per cent of their value during the session, which saw a moderate 2.3 billion shares traded. The FTSE 100 has lost 8.3 per cent of its value in the first quarter of the year.
Among travel stocks things were no better. First Choice lost 1.5p on the day to close at 82.5p, not far ahead of its 12-month low of 67p, while MyTravel lost 0.75p to end the day at 8.75p. P&O Princess suffered a 16.5p reverse for a 413.25p close. The online seller lastminute.com ended the day 0.5p down at 83.75p.
Among the airlines, British Airways lost 4.5p to end the session at 104p, not far ahead of its year-low of 86p and a long way short of its 12-month high of 244.75p. Easyjet lost 5.75p to close at 222p while its no-frills rival Ryanair also had a negative session and ended at 428p, 14p down on the day.
