STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-AIM index gains 0.2 pct, Journey Group rises

Junior-listed AIM shares rise 0.2 percent, while the FTSE Small Cap index advances 0.1 percent, outperforming a 0.1 percent dip on the mid-caps and a 0.5 percent fall on the blue chips.

Catering services and in-flight products firm Journey Group climbs 2.3 percent after its U.S. division, Air Fayre, wins a new contract with low-cost U.S. airline JetBlue Airways (Frankfurt: JAW.F - news) .

The contract is for Air Fayre to provide a fresh buy-on board and first class offering for JetBlue's predominantly transcontinental flights out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

"(Journey Group) has established a significant share of the LAX catering market yet there still remain sizeable growth opportunities with new and existing clients, both at LAX and also at other airports and hubs in California and beyond," N+1 Singer says in a note.

"Journey Group is now well positioned both financially and operationally and has a very solid platform for further business development in the year ahead as momentum builds," it says.

Trading volume in the stock, however, is thin, at just 7.6 percent of its 90-day daily average, against the AIM index where volumes come in at 56 percent of the index's 90-day daily average.

Reuters messaging rm://tricia.wright1.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net