StockMarketWire.com - UK stocks opened lower on Monday, led down by airlines, after the UK imposed a two-week quarantine requirement on travelers from Spain.
At 0828, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 27.37 points, or 0.5%, at 6.096.45.
Sentiment was also dulled by mounting Covid-19 cases in the US and in places that had looked to have the virus under control, including Hong Kong and Australia.
Low-cost carrier Ryanair slumped 8.0% to 10.04c, having also swung to a €185m first-quarter loss, after it was forced to ground most of its fleet due to the Covid-19 crisis.
Ryanair said it expected to record a smaller loss in the second quarter, reflecting a gradual return to flying from 1 July.
Easyjet tumbled 14% to 505.71p and British Airways-owner International Consolidated Airlines dropped 10% to 178.31p.
IT services provider Kainos rallied 14% to 945.29p on announcing that it would pay a special dividend amid a better-than-expected adjusted profit performance for the year through March.
Oil and gas company Cairn Energy firmed 6.4% to 132.5p as it, too, said it would pay a special dividend, in its case of at least $250m, funded from the sale of its Sangomar assets offshore Sengal to Lukoil for up to $400m.
Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca fell 0.3% to £86.30, despite its chronic leukaemia and lung cancer treatments receiving marketing authorisation in the European Union.
Aviation services group Signature Aviation shed 2.8% to 220.2p after its revenue slumped in the first half, though it had seen some improvement in flying activity as lockdowns eased.
Information and analytics company Ascential slipped 2.6% to 290.6p having swung to a loss as canceled and deferred events owing to the pandemic dented revenue.
Engineering company Van Elle gained 3.2% to 32.5p as it continued to trade 'slightly' ahead of a mid-case scenario outlined when it launched an equity raising in April.
Construction and regeneration group Morgan Sindall rose 4.1% to £11.20 after its urban regeneration division agreed deals to commence the first phase of a £185m scheme in Manchester's city centre.
Transport corridor analytics group Maestrano added 4.3% to 7.3p as its Nextcore unitappointed Modus as its first distributor in North America. Story provided by StockMarketWire.com
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