Britain's FTSE tracks U.S. gains to recover airline-led falls
* FTSE 100 (FTSE: ^FTSE - news) ekes out 0.1 percent rise
* Wall Street rise fuels afternoon recovery
* Airlines among top fallers after Ryanair's profit warning
* Syria concerns keep investors on edge
(Updates closing prices, adds detail)
By Alistair Smout
LONDON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index
steadied on Wednesday, paring early losses after a stronger open
in the United States but dogged by an airline sector weakened by
a profit warning from budget carrier Ryanair.
The FTSE 100, which had been 0.6 percent lower at
midday, retraced its losses entirely in the first hour of
trading on Wall Street, where a rally in the tech sector drove
gains.
While stocks have fallen since late July, UK blue chips have
outperformed the S&P 500 over that period. U.S. stocks
had also missed out on strong gains in Europe on Monday due to
the Labor Day holiday.
"The U.S. market was hit a bit harder on the way down, so
there's a correction on that side, which in turn can help in
Europe," Toby Morris, senior trader at CMC Markets, said.
The FTSE 100 was closed 0.1 percent higher, up just 6.33
points at 6,466.66 at 1445 GMT.
Vodafone (LSE: VOD.L - news) led gainers, up 2.2 percent after a 5
percent slide on Tuesday with traders attempting to ascertain
fair value for the stock after it sold its holding in a joint
venture with Verizon (NYSE: VZ - news) , prompting a 9.6 percent gain in a
week.
Johnson Matthey (LSE: JMAT.L - news) also gained strongly, up 1.9
percent after a target price upgrade from JP Morgan (Other OTC: JPYYL - news) .
Worries about disruption from possible U.S. strike on Syria
and a weak update from Ryanair set a soft tone for the
day for UK-listed airlines.
Budget airline easyJet, which reports traffic
numbers on Thursday, fell 5.1 percent while British Airways
parent IAG dropped 1.2 percent.
"The market is certainly keeping its eyes on Syria... and if
oil prices stay high, airlines would suffer further from that.
Ryanair had a profit warning, and easyJet is a very similar
airline, so there's concern that easyJet's numbers may follow
suit," Lee Armitage, senior trader at Accendo Markets, said.
"It could be a case of easyJet attracting Ryanair's
customers, but there are concerns that we may see even more
underwhelming figures from the sector."
Shares in the Irish airline, which said it could miss its
full-year profit forecast, sank 11 percent.
The FTSE 100 failed to recover the 6,500 level which it fell
through on Tuesday, when shares dropped 0.6 percent against a
backdrop of investor concern over Syria.
Late on Tuesday, leaders of the U.S. Senate Foreign
Relations Committee reached an agreement on a draft
authorisation for the use of force in Syria, paving the way for
a vote on Wednesday.
Also weighing on the UK market was a fall in the value of
stocks trading without rights to their latest dividend,
including Resolution, TUI Travel (LSE: TT.L - news) , and BHP
Billiton, which took 4.23 points off the index.
(Editing by Ron Askew)