The FTSE 100 has followed other global markets lower this morning, after the terror attack in Barcelona yesterday when 13 died after a van ploughed into a crowd.
In early trade, it dropped 0.65 per cent, while shares in European airline and tourism stocks dipped after the events in Spain.
Airline shares were among the early fallers, with EasyJet and British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) both initially dipping three per cent, now down 1.92 per cent and 1.84 per cent. Thomas Cook also dropped nearly two per cent per in morning trading, while Tui and theme park operator Merlin both edged down one per cent.
FTSE 250 airline Wizz Air also dropped two per cent in morning trading.
Meanwhile, Intercontinental Hotel Groups was the biggest faller on Spain’s Ibex index.
David Morrison, senior market strategist at Spread Co, said the news from Spain «unnerves confidence in the current febrile atmosphere».
And Neil Wilson of ETX Capital, said:
Airlines bore the brunt of a risk-off turn on the open, with shares in Ryanair, IAG, Air France KLM, Lufthansa and EasyJet all slumping following the terror attacks in Spain.
As we"™ve seen over the last couple of years in Europe, these kinds of atrocities affect tourism and will hit airline earnings. Investors are concerned that demand will fall over the rest of the year, which was already looking like it would be a tough patch for the industry.
The euro is currently up against the dollar at $1.1744 and flat against the pound.
Yesterday, 13 people died after a van was driven into crowds at Las Ramblas. The tourist hotspot has reopened to the public this morning…
