European Shares Tumble Amid Heathrow Chaos and Trade Tensions

European stocks stumbled on Friday due to a fire at Heathrow Airport, leading to a slump in travel shares. The STOXX 600 fell 0.5%, with travel and leisure stocks suffering the most. The market faced pressures from global trade tensions and changing economic projections.

European shares experienced a downturn on Friday, spurred by a disruptive fire at Heathrow Airport which hit travel stocks hard as investors evaluated rising trade tensions. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell by 0.5% at 0815 GMT, primarily impacted by a 2.1% decrease in the travel and leisure sector.

Airline companies faced significant pressure; IAG shares plummeted by 3.1%, Lufthansa decreased by 1.2%, Air France KLM faced a 2% drop, and easyJet lost 1.3%. These declines followed Heathrow's closure due to a major fire.

Despite a 0.7% rise for the week, bolstered by Germany's anticipated spending spurt, the market was overshadowed by global economic uncertainties after the Federal Reserve's lowered growth outlook. Additionally, Douglas shares plunged 18.3% after revising their annual forecast.

(With inputs from agencies.)