The FTSE 100 index closed 0.2% or 12 points lower at 6,111 on Monday as travel and leisure stocks weighed on sentiment following the UK's sudden impostion of a two-week quarantine requirement on travelers from Spain.
Spirits were also tempered by mounting COVID-19 cases in the US and in places that had looked to have the virus under control, including Hong Kong and Australia.
Gold soared to an all-time high above $1,940 per ounce and the dollar continued to slide on worsening diplomatic ties between China and the United States, firing up demand for the safe-haven metal.
Ryanair (RYA) cheapened 3.8% to €10.48 after the budget airline posted a first-quarter loss, albeit narrower than expected, after it was forced to ground most of its fleet due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The low-cost carrier said the past quarter was the most challenging in its 35-year history and warned that the remainder of the year will be challenging, too. ‘It is impossible to predict how long the COVID-19 pandemic will persist, and a second wave of COVID-19 cases across Europe in late autumn, when the annual flu season commences, is our biggest fear right now.’
EasyJet (EZJ) tumbled 8% to 542p, British Airways-owner International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) dropped 6% to 187p and Anglo-German holiday giant TUI (TUI) slumped 11% to 301p.
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZN) held firm at £86.48 on news that its chronic leukaemia and lung cancer treatments received marketing authorisation in the European Union.
AstraZeneca also announced that it had entered into a new global development and commercialisation agreement with Daiichi Sankyo for DS-1062, Daiichi Sankyo’s antibody drug conjugate and potential new medicine for the treatment of multiple tumour types.
Oil and gas producer Cairn Energy (CNE) rose 6.3% to 132p on news it will sell its Senegal interests to Russia’s Lukoil for up to $400 million (£311.3 million) and intends to return at least $250 million as a special dividend after the sale completes.
Also in demand was Kainos (KNOS), the IT services provider powering 25% higher to £10.36 on the news results for the year to March 2021 are expected to smash market expectations and that it will pay a special dividend of 6.7p in lieu of a final dividend.
‘The resilience in our business has been driven by our long-term relationships with our customers, by on-going demand within the NHS, Public Sector and Workday segments and by our diversification of revenues across customers, end markets and geographic regions,’ Kainos enthused.
Morgan Sindall (MGNS) added 1.7% to £10.94 after the construction and regeneration group said its urban regeneration division had agreed deals to commence the first phase of a £185 million scheme in Manchester’s city centre.
‘We are pleased to have agreed our second major forward funded deal in recent weeks, which further reinforces our regeneration strategy,’ said chief executive John Morgan.
City Pub (CPC:AIM) improved 5.8% to 73.5p on news it traded profitably in its first three weeks after opening, but revenues were just 63% of the equivalent period last year.
The pub operator, which has reopened 32 of its 48 pubs since July 4, said it intends to reopen all of its pubs in the next two months, or earlier if social distancing measures are eased further.
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