Airline stocks lose altitude

Airlines headed to the bottom of the FTSE 100 on Thursday, as US crude prices continued to find support around $50 a barrel.

EasyJet, the budget carrier, was the biggest single faller - down 1.6 per cent at £18.42. IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia, fell 1.1 per cent to 593½p, while Tui, the tour operator, was down 0.8 per cent at £12.01.

The losses also came as European investors read across from a downgrade for US airlines issued on Wednesday by Deutsche Bank.

Oil companies travelled in the opposite direction. BG rose 1.2 per cent to 861.3p, and Royal Dutch Shell was up 0.6 per cent at £20.42. Tullow Oil, one of the biggest fallers on the main London index in 2014 during the oil price slide, rose 1.2 per cent to 287.4p. Weir Group, the oilfield services provider, also rose 1.2 per cent - to £17.16.

Shares in Marks and Spencer strode to a five-year high and the top of the FTSE 100 as investors cheered signs of a recovery in its clothing sales.

The 131-year-old company reported an increase in same-store sales of clothing and homewares for the first time in 15 quarters. Its so-called "general merchandise" sales from outlets open for at least a year rose 0.7 per cent in the three months to the end of March, beating expectations.

"A much needed overhaul of merchandise, particularly clothing, now looks to be paying off, whilst a concentration on costs continues to contribute," said Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"In all, and with investor patience tested, chief executive Marc Bolland may finally be turning the corner. Analyst opinion continues to warm, with the current consensus of a cautious buy potentially being further upgraded."

Shares in M&S rose 5.5 per cent to 559.8p, their highest level since 2008.

Overall, the main London index started its final session before the long Easter weekend flat at 6,809.37.

© The Financial Times Limited 2015. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation