LONDON MARKETS: FTSE 100 Finishes With Losses As Airline Stocks Descend

By Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Pound hovers around $1.30; Reckitt Benckiser among the day's decliners

Blue-chip stocks in the U.K. fell Monday, with airlines pulled lower after a warning from Ryanair, and as Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC's latest update also weighed.

The FTSE 100 index dropped 1% to end at 7,377.73, giving up all of last week's gain. The benchmark on Friday lost 0.5% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ftse-100-edges-up-reaches-for-a-weekly-win-2017-07-21), but notched a weekly advance of 1%, its best such showing late May, according to FactSet data.

Shares in easyJet PLC (EZJ.LN) and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG.LN), which runs British Airways, fell 2.8% and 0.8%, respectively. The moves came after Ireland-based budget carrier Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) warned about pressure on fares because of overcapacity. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ryanair-profit-soars-55-warns-on-overcapacity-2017-07-24)

Ryanair stuck to its outlook that ticket prices in the first half, including the key July-September travel period, could fall on average 5%, and decline by 8% in the October-March period. Off the FTSE 100, shares of Ryanair stumbled 1.1%.

Other movers: Meanwhile, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (RB.LN) fell 3.3% for the FTSE 100's biggest drop. The consumer products heavyweight said like-for-like sales fell 2% during the second quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/reckitt-benckiser-profit-rises-on-reduced-costs-2017-07-24), hurt by a recent cyberattack that affected its operations and those of numerous companies.

The pound bought $1.3024, up modestly from $1.2997 late Friday in New York.

Oil and OPEC: Monday's session got under way with the oil and gas group being dragged lower by a decline in crude prices, but oil futures recently were higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-steady-with-all-eyes-on-opec-meeting-2017-07-24). Energy major Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) still closed down 1%, and rival BP PLC (BP.LN) gave up 1.5%.

The rally for crude prices followed news that Saudi Arabia--at a key meeting of oil producers--pledged lower exports, while Nigeria plans to limit its production.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 24, 2017 12:14 ET (16:14 GMT)

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