Excerpt from Irish Times
European tourism and airline stocks rose sharply on Tuesday, as investors bet that the Omicron coronavirus variant will cause less disruption to travel than first feared.
Shares in Aer Lingus and British Airways owner IAG, EasyJet and Wizz Air gained 10 per cent in morning trading in London, while German tour operator Tui rose 9 per cent.
Other European airlines shares including Ryanair, Lufthansa and Air France rose about 5 per cent, adding to gains on Monday when the London market was closed.
Airline and tourism shares have been particularly sensitive to Covid disruption, so any signs the Omicron outbreak could be less damaging than expected are likely to help stocks, analysts said.
In Britain, Boris Johnson’s government has resisted imposing significant new Covid restrictions, and on Tuesday leading epidemiologist Neil Ferguson said the spread of Omicron among adults could have plateaued in London.
Germany relaxed travel restrictions on the UK and several southern African nations on Tuesday, while Britain’s travel rules, which include expensive testing before and after flights, will be reviewed later this week.
The gains helped the European Stoxx 600 travel and leisure index to rise more than 2 per cent and reach its highest level since late November, before Omicron was declared a variant of concern by the World Health Organisation.
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