Reuters: Hot Stocks: British shares steady on U.S. gains as airlines drop

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British shares steady on U.S. gains as airlines drop Sep 4th 2013, 15:10 Wed Sep 4, 2013 11:10am EDT * FTSE 100 trades flat * Wall Street rise fuels afternoon recovery * Airlines among top fallers after Ryanair's profit warning * Syria concerns keep investors on edge (Updates) By Alistair Smout LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index steadied on Wednesday, paring early losses after a stronger open in the United States but dogged by an airline sector weakened by a profit warning from budget carrier Ryanair. The FTSE 100, which had been 0.6 percent lower at midday, retraced its losses entirely in the first hour of trading on Wall Street, where a rally in the tech sector drove gains. While stocks have fallen since late July, UK blue chips have outperformed the S&P 500 over that period. U.S. stocks had also missed out on strong gains in Europe on Monday due to the Labor Day holiday. "The U.S. market was hit a bit harder on the way down, so there's a correction on that side, which in turn can help in Europe," Toby Morris, senior trader at CMC Markets, said. The FTSE 100 was trading down just 1.75 points at 6,466.66 at 1445 GMT. Worries about disruption from possible U.S. strike on Syria and a weak update from Ryanair set a weak tone for the day for UK-listed airlines. Budget airline easyJet, which reports traffic numbers on Thursday, fell 6.3 percent while British Airways parent IAG dropped 3.5 percent. "The market is certainly keeping its eyes on Syria... and if oil prices stay high, airlines would suffer further from that. Ryanair had a profit warning, and easyJet is a very similar airline, so there's concern that easyJet's numbers may follow suit," Lee Armitage, senior trader at Accendo Markets, said. "It could be a case of easyJet attracting Ryanair's customers, but there are concerns that we may see even more underwhelming figures from the sector." Shares in the Irish airline, which said it could miss its full-year profit forecast, sank 14 percent. The FTSE 100 failed to recover the 6,500 level which it fell through on Tuesday, when shares dropped 0.6 percent against a backdrop of investor concern over Syria. Late on Tuesday, leaders of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee reached an agreement on a draft authorisation for the use of force in Syria, paving the way for a vote on Wednesday. Also weighing on the UK market was a fall in the value of stocks trading without rights to their latest dividend, including Resolution, TUI Travel, and BHP Billiton, which took 4.23 points off the index. Johnson Matthey led gainers, up 1.9 percent after a target price upgrade from JP Morgan. (Editing by John Stonestreet) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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