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FTSE 100 lower as travel shares fall | FTSE 100 lower as travel shares fall |
(about 4 hours later) | |
(Noon): London's benchmark share index was lower, with shares in travel-related companies down following news of the terror attacks in Brussels. | |
At midday, the FTSE 100 was down 48.28 points, or 0.8%, at 6,136.30. | |
News of the attacks in Brussels affected shares in airlines and travel companies. | |
IAG - the airline group that includes British Airways - fell 3.4%, and Easyjet dropped 1.3%. Hotels group Intercontinental was 2.2% lower. | |
Among the travel companies, TUI - whose brands include Thomson and First Choice - dropped 2.5% while Thomas Cook was down nearly 7%. | |
"Events in Brussels have dominated headlines this morning, with immediate reaction in financial markets a consequence of the news," said Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG. | |
Stock markets across Europe were lower. In Germany the Dax index was down 0.4%, France's Cac 40 was 0.8% lower while in Belgium the Bel 20 was 0.4% lower. | |
The price of gold - an asset traditionally seen as a haven in times of uncertainty - rose 1% to $1,255 an ounce. | |
Yields on benchmark German government bonds dropped to a two-week low, as the price of the bonds - which are also seen as safe assets - rose. | |
Sports Direct | |
In London, shares in BT Group fell 1.1% after telecoms regulator Ofcom told the company to install high-speed cables to businesses much faster and reduce the prices it charges for them. | |
In the FTSE 250, shares in Sports Direct fell nearly 9% after its founder and deputy chairman, Mike Ashley, told the Times that profits at the retailer would be lower this year. | |
He told the paper: "We are in trouble, we are not trading very well. We can't make the same profit we made last year." | |
On the currency markets, the pound fell more than three-quarters of a cent against the dollar to $1.4293. Against the euro, it fell nearly half a euro cent to €1.2740. |