London - AFP
British no-frills carrier easyJet on Monday rejoined London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading companies, but its share price sank in value amid broader market fears about Cyprus according to analysts. The airline's stock was down 1.49 per cent at 1,055.02 pence in afternoon deals on the FTSE 100, which was 0.62-percent lower at 6,449.92 points. EasyJet, which has enjoyed booming demand for its low-cost Europe-wide fares despite economic strains, has won promotion from London's second-tier FTSE 250, and now rubs shoulders with IAG -- parent of British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia. Also Monday, the budget airline launched its first flight to Moscow from London Gatwick airport. "EasyJet has chosen a difficult day to join the market's elite, in view of the wider potential reignition of European concerns," said Hargreaves Lansdown equities analyst Richard Hunter. "Nonetheless, despite today's falls... the shares have risen 138 per cent over the last year -- and 87 per cent in the last six months alone. This meteoric rise has of course helped propel them to the FTSE 100 and the market consensus of the shares remains a buy." Also joining the FTSE 100 on Monday was the London Stock Exchange Group. Shopping centre management firm Intu Properties and mining group Kazakhmys were both demoted to the FTSE 250 index.