* FTSE 100 down 0.5%; FTSE 250 down 0.8%
* Financial stocks biggest drags
* Ryanair slumps after poor results
* Blue-chips IAG, easyJet also fall
* Coca Cola HBC biggest FTSE 100 faller
(Adds company news items, updates to closing prices)
By Muvija M
May 20 (Reuters) - Britain's main share index slipped again
on Monday as worries over international trade increased on the
back of U.S. curbs on China's Huawei, while weak results from
Ryanair triggered a sell-off in airlines across the board.
The FTSE 100 .FTSE gave up 0.5% and the mid-cap index
.FTMC was 0.8% lower.
The indexes, however, fared better than their European peers
whose chipmakers were hit as sentiment were grim in the wake of
the crackdown on Huawei.
Concerns about the possible escalation of the U.S.-China
trade conflict hung in the air after Google GOOGL.O suspended
some business with Huawei.
"Seeing as the U.S. have taken a tough stance against
Huawei, traders are not hopeful that the US-China trade dispute
will be resolved quickly," CMC Markets analyst David Madden.
"While the U.S.-China trade situation remains in limbo,
sentiment is likely to be poor."
Asia-facing stocks including HSBC HSBA.L and Prudential
PRU.L were among the biggest drags on the main index.
In news-driven moves, Coca-Cola HBC AG CCH.L , which was
seen as a potential buyer for CCBA, slumped nearly 7% after
NYSE-listed Coca-Cola Co KO.N dropped plans to refranchise its
Africa bottling business CCBA.
Ryanair's London-listed stock RYA.L fell about 5% to a
four-month low after the low-cost airline reported its weakest
annual profit in four years amid struggles with overcapacity,
Brexit and delays in delivery of the Boeing 737 MAX.
The poor reading dragged down British Airways-owner IAG
ICAG.L , easyJet EZJ.L and Wizz Air WIZZ.L .
"Increased passenger numbers are boosting headline revenues,
and optional extras like paninis and hold baggage are selling
like hotcakes, but that hasn't been enough to offset the effect
of declining ticket prices on profitability," Hargreaves
Lansdown analyst Laith Khalaf said.
Among midcaps, a stand-out faller was Madame Tussauds-owner
Merlin Entertainments MERL.L which slipped 7% on its worst day
since last October after a double downgrade by HSBC.
Small-cap Low & Bonar LWB.L tumbled 24.5% to a record low
after the polymer products maker announced CEO departure and
cut full-year targets due to a hit to sales from the U.S.-China
trade war.
Real estate agent Foxtons FOXT.L lost 4.7% after it said
its CFO was leaving the company and that UK property sales were
running at record lows due to the impact of Brexit on consumer
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Ryanair lags rivals and the wider index https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTJDr5
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