At the close: FTSE 100 rises despite tourism stocks dropping in wake of Brussels attacks
Tourism stocks took a hit today in the wake of attacks in Brussels, holding the FTSE 100 index back from closing higher.
The index closed 0.13 per cent higher at 6,192 points.
"European equities dropped on Tuesday after a coordinated set of terrorist attacks at the airport and metro stations in Brussels sent investors out of risky assets and into havens. The attacks were later claimed by ISIS according to an Egyptian news agency. Belgium is now on its highest terror alert and the airport and all metro stations were closed," said Jasper Lawler, markets analyst at CMC Markets.
He added: "Markets recovered some of the losses as the afternoon came around. The sad reality is that the more frequent these kinds of events become, the more markets become immune and the response in prices becomes less dramatic."
Still, leisure and tourism stocks were biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 after the attacks. TUI fell 2.79 per cent to 975p per share, while Intercontinental Hotels dropped 1.63 per cent to 2,769p per share. IAG slipped 1.52 per cent to 549.5p per share.
Sports Direct also fell after its founder Mike Ashley warned on profits for 2016. Its share price fell 10.52 per cent to 379.2p per share.
Tesco, however, saw its share price rise as the supermarket launched a range of entry level own-label brands. Its share price rose 2.13 per cent to 201.65p per share.