LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Drops As Travel Shares Rattled After Terrorists Attacks In Spain
August 18 2017 - 3:35AM
Dow Jones News
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
British Airways parent IAG and easyJet's stocks slump
Blue-chip stocks in the U.K. dropped Friday, setting to wrap up
the week with a fall in travel-related stocks after terrorists
launched attacks in Spain.
The FTSE 100 fell 0.7% to 7,339.48, led by declines among
consumer goods and services shares. The index was facing a second
consecutive loss, but was still on course for a modest weekly rise
of 0.4%.
Equities across Europe slumped after at least 13 people
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/islamic-state-takes-credit-for-deadly-barcelona-attack-on-pedestrians-2017-08-17)
were killed Thursday when a van mowed down pedestrians on
Barcelona's popular Las Ramblas thoroughfare. More than 100 other
people were injured and the death toll could rise, officials said.
Hours later, police killed five alleged terrorists as they
responded to a separate attack that hurt seven people in Cambrils,
a Spanish town southwest of Barcelona.
Travel shares were pushed lower. EasyJet PLC (EZJ.LN) dropped
2.4% as did shares of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA
(IAG.LN) , which runs British Airways. Stock in InterContinental
Hotels Group PLC (IHG) lost 1.5%. Travel-services provider TUI AG
moved down 0.4% and cruise-ship operator Carnival PLC (CCL.LN) was
off 1.2%.
"The terrorist attack in Spain reminded everyone that ISIS is
still active. Investors turned towards the safety of the yen and
gold again, while the dollar scored gains versus the risk-on
commodity currencies," said Konstantinos Anthis, a research at ADS
Securities.
Shares of gold producer Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS.LN) gained
1%, just one of five FTSE 100 components that moved higher early
Friday.
U.K., European and Asian stocks
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-slumps-to-3-month-low-as-asian-markets-dip-2017-08-17)
were also swept lower following Wall Street's selloff
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-looks-set-to-break-4-day-win-streak-as-fed-minutes-sink-in-2017-08-17)
on Thursday. Investors are concerned the Trump administration won't
be able to push through his business-friendly reforms after a
number of Corporate America's leaders ditched U.S. President Donald
Trump's advisory councils in reactions to his response this week to
the deadly violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlotesville,
Va.
The pound bought $1.2892 compared with $1.2868 late Thursday in
New York.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 18, 2017 04:20 ET (08:20 GMT)
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