Omicron blamed as FTSE falls for sixth day

The FTSE 100 added to a five-day losing streak yesterday as Omicron worries caused oil majors and travel giants to weigh on the stock index.

The index dropped by 47.89 to 7,170.75, a 0.7% fall, meaning that it has not made any gains across a day since last Tuesday.

When looking for a culprit, analysts pointed their fingers squarely at the new Covid variant which is now sweeping the world.

“The FTSE 100 (is) once again finding itself weighed down by concerns over Omicron, with weakness in energy prices and travel and leisure weighing on the UK benchmark,” said Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets.

British Airways owner IAG looks like it will walk away from a one billion euro (£851 million) deal to buy Spain’s Air Europa, adding to the misery of a stock that was already being hit by a sell-off in the travel sector.

Other big fallers were Rolls-royce, which makes money when its plane engines are in the sky, and FTSE 250 airlines Wizz, Easyjet and Tui.

“Apart from some gains in European markets, stocks remain on the back foot,” said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

“Today’s CPI (Consumer Prices Index) figure puts plenty of pressure on the BOE to move, but given how the Omicron situation in the UK appears to have changed so dramatically this week, the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) will feel justified in holding policy unchanged for now.”

In currency markets, sterling dropped 0.1% against two big international peers. By the close of London’s markets, one pound could buy 1.3207 dollars or 1.1731 euros.