London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1% at 6,537.39 in afternoon trade on Friday.
St James’s Place was the standout gainer, closely followed by Prudential and Rentokil.
On the downside, British Airways and Iberia parent IAG and InterContinental Hotels were both lower.
IG market analyst Joshua Mahony said travel stocks were being hit amid growing fears over the potential impact of the more concerning Bristol Covid variant.
“Recent value stock gains have been built on the notion that the vaccination programme and reopening process is linear and predictable by nature, yet strains in South Africa and now Bristol highlight the potential to derail that presumption,” he said.
Precious metals miners Fresnillo and Polymetal also lost their shine as gold prices fell amid a rising US dollar.
FTSE 100 – Risers
St James’s Place (STJ) 1,206.00p 2.29%
Prudential (PRU) 1,316.50p 2.05%
Rentokil Initial (RTO) 522.60p 1.95%
DCC (DCC) 5,812.00p 1.82%
Severn Trent (SVT) 2,341.00p 1.78%
Pearson (PSON) 761.20p 1.68%
Smith (DS) (SMDS) 388.20p 1.65%
Informa (INF) 516.20p 1.53%
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,788.00p 1.43%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 7,347.00p 1.39%
FTSE 100 – Fallers
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,005.00p -2.47%
Tesco (TSCO) 239.60p -2.00%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,511.50p -1.85%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 146.35p -1.71%
Glencore (GLEN) 265.10p -1.63%
NATWEST GROUP PLC ORD 100P (NWG) 169.40p -1.63%
SSE (SSE) 1,428.00p -1.45%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 4,859.00p -1.34%
Polymetal International (POLY) 1,584.50p -1.34%
Kingfisher (KGF) 273.30p -1.34%
