On a poor week for the wider
stock market, UK airline shares lost further altitude, following a profit alert
from rival Air France-KLM. International
Airlines Group (IAG), owner of British Airways and Iberia, and the low-cost
carrier, easyJet, slid after its
Paris-based peer slashed guidance for full-year earnings, due to overcapacity
issues on its long-range routes.
The alert dented investor
confidence in other travel-related stocks. Local Crawley-based TUI Travel also felt the pinch, as did Thomas Cook. Dealers said that
nervousness about the Middle East, particularly a possible invasion of Gaza by
Israel, also weighed on sentiment towards the sector.
Shares in Greggs slid after announcing that its third biggest shareholder,
Troy Asset Management, had offloaded its entire 5.4% stake in the baker. Some
5.5m shares are understood to have been sold at 536½p apiece.
SSP, the business behind the Upper Crust and Caffe Ritazza food
chains, which has a number of outlets in Sussex, made a successful debut as a
listed company with a market value of just under £1bn. Shares in the group,
which is led by former WH Smith boss Kate Swann, were priced at 210p, 5.5 times
oversubscribed and initial trading was at a premium. Private equity-owner EQT
is expected to remain as a major shareholder.
Wall Street has retreated from
its recent highs, following the FTSE 100 and European bourses lower amid
worries about the health of the Portuguese financial system and other
peripheral eurozone nations. Investor concerns are centred on Portugal and the
health of Espirito Santo Financial Group (ESFG) and Banco Espirito Santo (BES), the country's biggest-listed lender
which has an investment banking business in London.
As equity markets were sold-off
investors took shelter in the precious metals miners and physical gold and
silver were back in demand.
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