Travel and leisure sector under pressure

Tourism stocks continue to lag after the terror attacks in Paris last week and in Mali on Friday, while airline stocks also came under pressure. Traders cited the Islamist militant attacks as a “security threat for the whole travel and leisure sector”.

DUBLIN

The market was a little weak in the morning but got stronger as the day went on, rising about 0.4 per cent.

Bank of Ireland moved over the course of the day, but there was good volume with about 180 million shares and it ended the day up 3.5 per cent. The Dalata Hotel Group, meanwhile, was up about 4 per cent. Its volume was modest at about 400,000.

There was also some action with CRH. Following a good day on Thursday when it climbed 5 per cent, it rose a further 1.5 per cent on Friday. The buying momentum after its positive trading update continued and it held all its gains as well as adding marginally.

Ryanair enjoyed good activity on Thursday but was a bit quieter on Friday as well as marginally weaker. It traded about 1.2 million shares. Smurfit was also slightly weaker and was down about 2.5 per cent.

There was good action in Paddy Power. It traded about 400,000 and its share price was up marginally to €116.80.

LONDON

Britain's top equity index edged higher on Friday and recorded its best weekly gain since early October, with Imperial Tobacco gaining on the back of a bid rumour and Royal Mail rising for a second day after results.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.1 per cent higher, at 6,334.63 points. It gained 3.5 per cent this week, the best weekly performance in more than a month. The index closed 0.8 per cent higher in the previous session after rising to its highest level in over a week.

Royal Mail gained 2.5 per cent, building on a 5 per cent rise in the previous session after it projected an increased level of cost cuts and said it had a resilient performance in the six months to September 27th.

However, airline stocks came under pressure, with traders citing an Islamist militant attack on a luxury hotel in Mali on Friday as one reason, along with broker downgrades. “It’s the security threat for the whole travel and leisure sector,” a trader said.

EUROPE

European shares ended their strongest week in a month on Friday with a benchmark index rising to three-month highs, helped by growing expectations of more ECB stimulus, but gains were capped by stake sales in leading companies.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.19 per cent to gain more than 3 per cent on the week, while the Euro Stoxx 50 added 0.1 per cent.

Tourism stocks have lagged the market since last Friday's attacks in Paris. Air France, down over 6 per cent in the last two weeks, has experienced some reduction in traffic, but it was too early to say how severe the impact of the attacks on bookings would be, a company source said.

Defence stocks, meanwhile, have outpaced the market. BAE Systems closed up 1.6 per cent and has rallied more than 11 per cent in little over a week.

Germany's Dax index outperformed other national indexes to gain 0.3 per cent, with Volkswagen up 2.5 per cent after announcing a €1 billion investment cut for next year. Athens shares fell 1.7 per cent amid renewed worries about political instability in Greece.

NEW YORK

Wall Street added to its gains in late morning trading, with the S&P 500 on track for its best week in a year, as healthcare and consumer stocks rose.

The Dow Jones industrial average turned positive for the year, led by a 4.6 per cent rise in Nike which announced a $12 billion share buyback and a two-for-one share split.

Healthcare was the top gainer among the 10 major S&P sectors, led by Allergan's 3.3 per cent increase.

Earlier this week, minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s October meeting hardened expectations of a December rate hike but showed policymakers were cautious on further hikes.