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(Alliance News) - Stock prices in London opened lower on Friday following heavy selling in New York on Thursday, while International Consolidated Airlines fell sharply after missing market forecasts.
The FTSE 100 index was down 36.48 points, or 0.5%, at 7,466.79 early Friday. The mid-cap FTSE 250 index was down 152.77 points, or 0.8%, at 19,937.19. The AIM All-Share index was down 7.86 points, or 0.8%, at 985.91.
The Cboe UK 100 index was down 0.6% at 743.79. The Cboe 250 was down 0.8% at 17,583.97, and the Cboe Small Companies down 0.2% at 14,978.88.
In mainland Europe, the CAC 40 stock index in Paris was down 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt was 1.1% lower.
In the US on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 3.1% lower, the S&P 500 down 3.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite 5.9% lower, with the S&P and Nasdaq suffering their worst sessions since 2000.
"European markets have opened the final session of the week down, taking their cues from the sharp sell-off on Wall Street overnight. Earnings continue to be front-and-centre, with IAG slumping to the bottom of the FTSE 100," said interactive investor's Victoria Scholar.
In the FTSE 100, oil majors BP and Shell were among a handful of stocks in the green, up 1.5% and 1.6% respectively, tracking spot oil prices higher.
Brent oil was quoted at USD111.52 a barrel Friday morning, up from USD110.84 late Thursday.
At the other end of the large-caps, International Consolidated Airlines was the worst performer, down 8.7%. The British Airways parent said demand for travel is recovering strongly in line with its previous expectations as it posted a narrowed first-quarter loss.
For the three months ended March 31, IAG reported an after-tax loss of EUR787 million, narrowed from EUR1.07 billion in the first quarter last year, as total revenue more than tripled to EUR3.44 billion from EUR968 million. On a pretax basis, IAG's loss narrowed to EUR916 million from EUR1.22 billion a year before.
In addition, IAG's first-quarter operating loss before exceptional items was EUR754 million, narrowed from an operating loss before exceptional items EUR1.14 billion a year ago. However, the latest figure missed the consensus estimate for a loss of EUR510 million.
Still, IAG said it expects to be profitable from the second quarter onwards and for the full year of 2022.
"IAG says it is investing in its British Airways customer experience and operations which is laudable, but at times its unwillingness to refund and make restitution during the pandemic has left a bitter taste for many would-be customers. A return to profitability would be an important moment, but the reputational cost on that road has been dear nonetheless," said eToro analyst Mark Crouch.
InterContinental Hotels Group was down 0.8% after the Holiday Inn parent's first-quarter performance was soured by weak trading in China.
For the three months ended March 31, revenue per available room - a key metric in the hotel industry - was up 61% from the first quarter of last year.
IHG said Americas and EMEAA regions saw sequentially improved trading in February and March after a challenging January.
However, in Greater China, trading in March was hurt by the tightening of localised travel restrictions following a spike in Covid-19 cases. In Greater China, first-quarter RevPAR was down 7% from the first quarter of 2021 and down 42% from the same period in 2019.
In the FTSE 250, 4imprint was the best performer, up 9.6%, after the promotional products marketer raised its full-year outlook.
4imprint said strong trading has continued in the first four months of the year, with "excellent demand" to result in a "very strong financial performance" for the period.
In January to April, total order numbers in its primary North American business were 11% higher than pre-Covid 2019 levels. Average order values were 14% ahead of 2019, with overall demand revenue 27% ahead.
The trading momentum means 4imprint is likely to achieve its long-term goal of USD1 billion in revenue in 2022, which is the upper limit of analysts' forecasts and higher than analysts' consensus, it said.
In Asia on Friday, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index closed up 0.7%, reopening after being closed for public holidays for most of the week. In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 2.2%, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was down 3.8%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Sydney ended down 2.2%.
The dollar was higher against counterparts. The pound was quoted at USD1.2317 early Friday, down from USD1.2331 at the London equities close Thursday.
The euro was priced at USD1.0510, lower against USD1.0516. Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JPY130.36, up from JPY130.30.
Gold stood at USD1,876.18 an ounce, lower against USD1,881.76 late Thursday.
Friday's economic calendar has UK construction PMI at 0930 BST and the monthly US jobs report at 1330 BST.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a backlash from local Tory leaders as his party lost major London authorities to Labour and suffered setbacks across England in local elections.
Keir Starmer's party further strengthened its grip on the capital, taking the totemic Tory authority in Wandsworth, winning Westminster for the first time since its creation in 1964 and clinching victory in Barnet.
As dozens of Tory councillors lost their seats against a backdrop of the row about lockdown-busting parties in No 10 and the cost-of-living crisis, local Conservative leaders criticised the prime minister.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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