London midday: FTSE pares gains as travel stocks take a hit
London stocks had pared earlier gains to trade flat by midday on Wednesday, with travel shares under the cosh following reports the government is set to introduce fresh Covid restrictions.
The FTSE 100 was steady at 7,339.39, while sterling was down 0.4% against the dollar at 1.3197 amid reports the government has decided to move to ‘plan B’ to try to curb the spread of coronavirus. This would mean the introduction of vaccine passports for large venues and a return of advice to work from home.
Travel group Tui slumped after it lowered winter capacity plans due to the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant as it reported its first quarterly profit since the start of the pandemic. The company said capacity would "likely" be modified towards the lower end of winter plans of between 60% - 80%.
More generally, the travel sector was weak, with BA owner IAG, engine maker Rolls-Royce, Premier Inn owner Whitbread, Wizz Air and easyJet all lower. Leisure and hospitality stocks also suffered, with Cineworld, Restaurant Group and Wetherspoons all down, no doubt on news of more Covid measures.
Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The feel good factor has evaporated for British Airways owner IAG, easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air amid worries that customers will hold off booking new flights until more information is available about the infectiousness of Omicron - due to concerns that tougher travel restrictions may be imposed.
"Many passengers have become tired of postponing trips and becoming mired in complex refund processes, and are likely to hold off paying hard earned wages for fresh disappointment. News that the UK government is considering implementing a plan B and re-issuing work at home guidance is likely to add to the urge to batten up the hatches and stay put, until the latest Covid storm subsides."
Elsewhere, miniature wargames manufacturer Games Workshop fell after it said pre-tax profits had slipped in the six months ended 28 November despite seeing sales moderately improve. It now expects interim sales to be no less than £190.0m, up from £186.8m at the same time a year, but pre-tax profits are set to be down at around £86.0m from £91.6m.
On the upside, Berkeley rallied after it increased its guidance for the current year and beyond as the housebuilder reported a 26% increase in first-half profit fuelled by its investment in London and surrounding areas. Peers Persimmon and Barratt also gained.
Man Group pushed higher after saying it would buy back up to $250m of shares to return cash to shareholders.
Upper Crust and Ritazza owner SSP advanced after it reported a widening of its full-year losses as it took a hit from Covid restrictions, but said revenue trends had started to improve over the summer and autumn.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,339.39 -0.01%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,263.83 0.11%
techMARK (TASX) 4,476.26 0.18%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,829.00p 4.19%
Croda International (CRDA) 10,430.00p 3.68%
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,672.50p 3.21%
Admiral Group (ADM) 3,092.00p 2.35%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 6,856.00p 2.15%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,939.00p 2.08%
Spirax-Sarco Engineering (SPX) 16,380.00p 1.80%
United Utilities Group (UU.) 1,126.50p 1.76%
B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 638.00p 1.66%
Experian (EXPN) 3,661.00p 1.64%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 135.96p -4.32%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 126.42p -4.08%
3i Group (III) 1,416.50p -2.58%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,521.00p -2.41%
Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,917.00p -2.29%
Darktrace (DARK) 419.20p -2.28%
DCC (CDI) (DCC) 5,694.00p -2.20%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 150.40p -2.02%
Whitbread (WTB) 2,905.00p -1.73%
BP (BP.) 344.85p -1.72%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Reach (RCH) 280.00p 5.66%
Man Group (EMG) 225.90p 4.68%
Hill & Smith Holdings (HILS) 1,778.00p 3.61%
Trustpilot Group (TRST) 350.00p 3.49%
Savills (SVS) 1,412.00p 3.44%
Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 104.20p 2.36%
Indivior (INDV) 231.60p 2.30%
Genus (GNS) 5,060.00p 2.26%
Victrex plc (VCT) 2,480.00p 2.23%
Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 2,475.00p 2.06%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) 4,187.00p -6.04%
Restaurant Group (RTN) 87.90p -5.59%
Cineworld Group (CINE) 50.04p -5.58%
National Express Group (NEX) 227.80p -5.32%
easyJet (EZJ) 526.40p -5.02%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 207.00p -4.83%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 188.15p -3.59%
Trainline (TRN) 280.20p -3.38%
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 876.50p -3.26%
FirstGroup (FGP) 102.40p -3.12%