Airlines, transport and hotel stocks fell on Monday amid concerns that the Paris terror attacks could hit tourism.
International Airlines Group (LON:IAG) dropped 13.5p to 579p, EasyJet (LON:EZJ) reversed 4p to 1786p and Thomas Cook (LON:TCG) was off 4.1p at 102.9p.
Ryanair (LON:RYA) dipped €0.26 to €14.23 and Channel Tunnel operator Groupe Eurotunnel (GET:PA) was 4.2% down at €11.82 in Paris.
Cruise operator Carnival (LON:CCL) fell 84p to 3387p.
Intercontinental Hotels (LON:IHG) was also 25p lower at 2484p in the wake of news that rival Marriott International was buying Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE:HOT) for US$12.2bn.
There had been renewed speculation that IHG would merge with Starwood, although IHG denied on November 9 that it was considering selling itself.
France's CAC-40, trading normally despite the atrocities but with extra security imposed by operator Euronext, was off 5.6 points at 4802. Germany's Dax pared losses to stand 20 points ahead at 10,728.
The FTSE 100 Index began in negative territory but pared losses to stand 23.8 points up at 6142 at around 1315 GMT.
Analysts said the events could hit the Paris economy in the near-term and may have a knock-on effect elsewhere in France.
They could also hit tourism in France and other countries where people believed attacks were most likely to occur.
But Howard Archer at economic research group IHS Global Insight said: "As horrific as these events are – and this is truly awful – economic activity does tend to be pretty resilient.
"The UK, Spain and France itself have all seen their economies little damaged by terrorist atrocities in the past."
Electronic part distributors Premier Farnell (LON:PFL) and Electrocomponents (LON:ECM) were up as talk swirled that they could merge following management changes at both companies.
Shares in Premier gained 1p to 100.5p and Electrocomponents lifted 1.7p to 219.2p.
Shares in housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW.) made up losses to stand 3.8p to 177.6p as investors reacted cautiously to an upbeat trading statement.
Elsewhere, Premier Oil (LON:PMO) jumped 6.15p to 74.95p as it announced plans to sell its Norwegian business for US$120mln.
Rockhopper Exploration (LON:RKH) was flat at 37p after saying first gas production into the network from the Civita gas field, in the Abruzzo region of Italy, began on November 13.
Investors boosted shares in Strategic Minerals (LON:SML) soared 10.77% to 0.36p on news that it had begun extraction of a sample from its proposed Tatu coal mine on the North Island of New Zealand.
LONDON OPEN
European markets opened lower on Monday as traders digested the potential implications of the Paris terror attacks.
France's CAC-40, trading normally despite the atrocities but with extra security imposed by operator Euronext, was off 17 points at 4790. Germany's Dax fell 37 points to 10,672.
The FTSE 100 Index began in negative territory but pared losses to stand 1.7 points up at 6120 at around 0845 GMT.
Analysts said the events could hit the Paris economy in the near-term and may have a knock-on effect elsewhere in France.
They could also hit tourism in France and other countries where people believed attacks were most likely to occur.
But Howard Archer at economic research group IHS Global Insight said: "As horrific as these events are – and this is truly awful – economic activity does tend to be pretty resilient.
"The UK, Spain and France itself have all seen their economies little damaged by terrorist atrocities in the past."
On the markets, airline and transport stocks were lower as investors speculated about the potential impact on tourism of the assaults.
International Airlines Group (LON:IAG) dropped 16.5p to 579.5p, EasyJet (LON:EZJ) reversed 13p to 1768p and Thomas Cook (LON:TCG) was off 6.6p at 104.6p..
Ryanair (LON:RYA) dipped €0.24 to €14.25 and Channel Tunnel operator Groupe Eurotunnel (GET:PA) was 3.9% down at €11.84 in Paris.
Shares in housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (LON:TW.) backtracked 1.4p to 176.6p as investors reacted cautiously to an upbeat trading statement.
Elsewhere, Premier Oil (LON:PMO) jumped 3.15p to 72.6p as it announced plans to sell its Norwegian business for US$120mln.
Rockhopper Exploration (LON:RKH) slid 0.5p to 36.5p after saying first gas production into the network from the Civita gas field, in the Abruzzo region of Italy, began on November 13.
MARKET PREVIEW
The equity markets registered their dismay at the Paris atrocity in Asia overnight and it is expected the FTSE 100 will follow suit when it opens later.
The spread betting firms say the UK’s blue chip index can be expected to fall around 60 points to 6,058.28.
“While not wanting to second guess the effect of the events of the weekend the closure of France’s borders, along with other security measures, the impact on consumer confidence could well be considerable in the coming days and weeks,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
Overnight the Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.2%, while in China the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite dropped 1.6% and 0.3% respectively.
Investors sought out safe haven stocks, while gold, the traditional hedge against uncertainty, rose 1% to just under the US$1,100 an ounce mark.
One report suggested a fairly hefty US$316mln-worth of the precious metal changed hands in the first ten minutes of the new week.
Silver and palladium were similarly strong.
As might be expected the euro came under selling pressure, while Brent crude rose 3% to US$45 a barrel as French jets hit ISIS strongholds in Syria, ratcheting up international tensions.
The scheduled corporate news will likely be overshadowed by the events in Paris on Friday night and the backlash.
Slated to report this week are Taylor Wimpey, EasyJet, Poundland, Royal Mail and Whitbread.