* Travel stocks hit by new restrictions
* Cardboard maker DS Smith jumps on strong H1 profit
* Balfour Beatty gains on strong results
* FTSE 100 down 0.2%, FTSE 250 rises 0.4%
(Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shreyashi Sanyal
Dec 9 (Reuters) - UK shares closed lower on Thursday as
worries about the impact of tougher COVID-19 restrictions in
England hit the travel sector and overshadowed a clutch of
positive earnings reports.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was 0.2% lower, while the
domestically focussed mid-cap index lost 0.4%.
Airline stocks Wizz Air, EasyJet and
British Airways-owner IAG fell more than 2% each, after
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed tougher COVID-19
restrictions in England on Wednesday.
"Every indication so far is that Omicron is not as harmful
as some of the other variants. It just spreads more quickly,"
said Danni Hewson, financial analyst at AJ Bell.
"The travel sector is being hammered ... people are looking
at it and thinking anything connected with travel is going to be
impacted."
Market participants are now awaiting a policy meeting from
the Bank of England, with expectations that the central bank
will wait until early next year before raising borrowing costs,
later than previously expected.
"There may be some marginal benefit in waiting for new
information on the Omicron variant, including its impact on
infections, hospitalisations and vaccine efficacy," said Sanjay
Raja, senior economist at Deutsche Bank.
Transport company FirstGroup fell 5.7% after warning
of uncertainty in its recovery pace because of new restrictions
imposed in England, with passenger numbers on its buses slipping
in recent weeks.
Rolls-Royce declined 3.4% and was at the bottom of
the blue-chips index on fears that a drop in air travel could
hit its business that makes and maintains aircraft engines.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca rose 0.9% after U.S. health
regulators authorized the use of its antibody cocktail to
prevent COVID-19 infections.
Cardboard maker DS Smith gained 1.2% after posting
an 80% surge in first-half profit and declaring a higher interim
dividend.
Infrastructure company Balfour Beatty gained 2.3%
after doubling its revenue in the first half of 2021.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shreyashi Sanyal in
Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Lisa Shumaker)