(Reuters) – European shares fell on Friday, led by travel stocks after a fire at Heathrow Airport, while investors continue to assess the effects of brewing trade tensions.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.5% as of 0815 GMT, with losses led by Europe’s travel and leisure index, down 2.1%.
Airlines companies came under pressure after a huge fire closed Britain’s Heathrow Airport for the day. Shares of IAG fell 3.1%, Lufthansa slipped 1.2%, Air France KLM declined 2% and easyJet shed 1.3%.
The benchmark index was up 0.7% for the week so far, primarily boosted by Germany. The country’s lower house of Parliament voted on a spending splurge aimed at reviving growth in Europe’s largest economy and scaling its military spending. Its upper house is set to vote on Friday.
Global economic uncertainties weighed on the market for the week, especially after the Fed on Wednesday lowered its economic growth outlook for this year and raised inflation projections due to higher uncertainty from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.
Shares of Douglas dropped 18.3% after the German perfume and cosmetics retailer lowered its full-year outlook.
(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
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