Travel-sector stocks fell in early Friday trading as fears were raised that a bird flu outbreak in China would stifle air travel demand.
Shares in Chinese airlines declined the most in nearly four years following news six people died of the H7N9 bird flu virus.
The deaths accounted for more than a third of the 14 confirmed human infection cases in the country. Most of those affected were on the eastern coast near Shanghai which sparked a mass slaughter of poultry.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Reports of the outbreak sent Hong Kong-listed shares of airlines tumbling, namely Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 2.5% at 21,786.
Europe stocks also declined with the STOXX Europe 600 Travel and Leisure index down 1.62%.
Low-cost European airline easyJet was among the fallers despite an in-line trading update and a positive outlook from Investec which raised its rating from 'hold' to 'buy'.
International Consolidated Airlines (IAG) also dropped as it was dragged down further by its announcement Wednesday that the number of premium passengers flying with its British Airways and Iberia airlines fell 2.0% last month.
The company blamed the early timing of Easter and strikes at the Spanish carrier.
Iberia cabin crew and ground employees' unions went on strike for five days in March as jobs losses were threatened at the loss-making airline.
The carrier operated about 64% of its flights during the month. It impacted the group total by about 0.8%.
Non-premium traffic increased by a marginal 0.5% in the month.
Group traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres increased by 0.1% year-on-year while group capacity measured in available seat kilometres was down 1.1%.
Underlying market conditions remain unchanged from those described at the publication of fourth quarter results in February, IAG said.
RD
-
Who is the richest person in the world?The top five richest people in the world have a combined net worth of $825 billion. Who takes the crown for the richest person in the world?
-
Top 10 stocks with highest growth over past decade - from Nvidia, Microsoft to Netflix, which companies made you the most money?
We reveal the 10 global companies with the biggest returns since 2013. One firm has posted an astonishing 9,870% return, meaning a £1,000 investment would now be worth almost £82,000.
