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UPDATE 2- UK stocks slide as quarantine rules hit travel stocks, data disappoints

Fri, 14th Aug 2020 09:11

(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon
news window)

* BA-owner, easyJet slump as UK quarantines travellers from
France

* Disappointing China, U.S. retail sales dents recovery
optimism

* UK benchmarks set for second week of gains on stimulus
bets

* UK resumes lockdown easing; stiffens punishment on rule
breaches

* FTSE 100 down 1.6%, FTSE 250 off 1.1%
(Updates to close)

By Sagarika Jaisinghani and Susan Mathew

Aug 14 (Reuters) - London-listed shares fell on Friday as
travel stocks tumbled after Britain imposed new quarantine
measures on travellers from France and other countries, while
disappointing data from around the world raised worries of a
delayed global economic rebound.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 1.6% and the mid-cap
FTSE 250 lost 1.1%, with the travel index
marking its sharpest loss in two weeks as France warned that it
would reciprocate.

British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines
, budget carrier easyJet and the London shares
of tourism company TUI lost between 4.8% and 8.4%.

"This comes just as the travel and tourism sector was
starting to get back on its feet after being decimated by the
(novel coronavirus) pandemic," said Craig Erlam, senior market
analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA.

Any reciprocation would mean that UK businesses that rely on
tourists from France and others in the list such as the
Netherlands and Malta, will also suffer, he said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson resumed Britain's lockdown
easing but stiffened punishments for rule breaches including
increasing fines for repeatedly refusing to wear face masks, and
cautioned he would halt the easing again if needed.

Losses in London indexes were broad-based as falling crude
prices weighed on oil majors, while a strong pound
hurt internationally focused firms on the FTSE 100.

Global sentiment, meanwhile, took a hit as an unexpected
slip in China retails sales was followed by U.S. retails sales
rising less than expected in July. In the euro zone, data
confirmed the bloc suffered the biggest drop ever recorded in
employment and gross domestic product in the second
quarter.

But, the FTSE 100 logged its second straight weekly gain, up
1%, as growing evidence of the pandemic's economic and corporate
damage brews optimism around more stimulus.

Citigroup analysts said they expected dividends issued by UK
firms to drop 50% this year, although miners could outperform if
commodity prices showed resilience in the second half.
(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bengaluru, Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu and David Evans)

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