Bumpy day for travel stocks hits FTSE 100

The London markets slipped lower as travel firms saw their shares hammered by the government’s decision to quarantine arrivals from Spain.

Traders, who were also unnerved by wider market concerns largely linked to Us-china tensions, sold off airliner stocks amid fears the move will stop UK holidaymakers from booking flights.

The FTSE 100 closed 18.94 points lower at 6,104.88p at the end of trading yesterday.

Shares in Ryanair, Easyjet, British Airways-owner IAG and Tui all slid as holidaymakers continue to increasingly book domestic getaways.

The German Dax increased by 0.04%, while the French Cac moved 0.34% lower.

Across the Atlantic, the Dow Jones nudged marginally higher as rumours of a one trillion dollar stimulus package circulated to improve trading sentiment.

Meanwhile, sterling hit its highest figure since March against the dollar as it took advantage of weakness in the US greenback.

The pound rose 0.67% versus the US dollar at 1.287 and was down 0.28% against the euro at 1.095.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil decreased by 1.29% to 42.74 US dollars.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Fresnillo, up 85p at 1,276.5p, Polymetal, up 127.5p at 1,932.5p, Antofagasta, up 37.5p at 1,066.5p, and Intertek, up 134p at 5,550p.

The biggest fallers were Pearson, down 32.4p at 512.2p, IAG, down11.65p at 186.95p, Melrose, down 5.83p at 98.52p, and Intercontinental Hotel Group, down 149p at 3,619p.