Thomas Cook drops up to 60 per cent in nightmare week

The Thomas Cook roller coaster continued its bumpy ride today as stocks plummeted in an early morning sell-off, dropping as much as 60 per cent below last Monday’s price.

The stock fluctuated from highs of 22.64p to lows of 19.89p, falling 16 per cent before rallying to close 4 per cent down.

Meanwhile, the cost of insuring debt issued by the travel agent against default bounced, as investors scrambled to cover their backs.

The world’s oldest travel company has dropped in every session this past week after downgrading its profit guidance for the second time in as many months.

Net debt is up to £389m while its tour operations arm dropped £88m, the company said last week, blaming the warm summer for changing travellers’ plans.

“Balmy UK weather over the summer meant Brits felt less need to go abroad for some warmth, and that’s hit the bottom line at Thomas Cook,” said Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

He told City PM that the stock’s recovery today was likely down to natural fluctuations after the massive fall.

“When you have a stock like this which is now much smaller than it was after suffering a big share price fall you can get a little volatility.”

However the fall will probably not be enough to save it from relegation from the FTSE 250.