European stock markets slipped to their lowest close in six weeks today, hit by heavy losses in oil shares, which tracked a sharp fall in the price of crude. The fall in oil prices lifted airline shares, however.
London's FTSE fell 88 points (1.5%) to 5,970, with British Airways jumping 5.6% to just under 244p. The main fallers included BP - down almost 4% to 583p - and Vodafone, which lost almost 5% to 155p. In Paris, the CAC shed 1.4% to 4,915 and in Frankfurt the Dax lost 0.8% to 6,965.
In Dublin, the ISEQ closed down 47 points at 5,921. Airlines were stronger, with Ryanair gaining 18 cent to €3.02 and Aer Lingus up five to €1.60. But building shares were weak, with CRH down 44 to €22.56 and Kingspan losing 18 to €6.50.
US stock markets rebounded after a survey on the key services sector showed a slightly better than anticipated performance in May. The Dow Jones was up 76 points to 12,479, while the Nasdaq gained 35 to 2,515. Earlier this morning, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 226 points (1.5%) to end at 14,436.
