Nice attack: Travel stocks plunge following Bastille Day atrocity

European bourses weakened this morning (15 July), with travel stocks leading the decline following a terrorist attack in the French city of Nice last night.

Some 84 people died and at least 50 people were left injured, as a truck ploughed into a crowd that had gathered on the famous Promenade des Anglais in the city in the south of France to celebrate Bastille Day.

The attack was the latest blow to travel stocks, following similar events in Turkey, Belgium and Egypt earlier this year. Shortly after the opening bell, International Consolidated Airlines Group, the owner of British Airways and Iberia, was down 1.10%.

Budget airlines easyJet and Ryanair fell 3.42% and 1.85% respectively, while Thomas Cook Group lost 1.40%. Meanwhile, TUI, the company behind Thomson and First Choice was 1.2% lower.

Among European stocks, Air France KLM was down 1.83%, while Lufthansa slid 0.26%.

What would have been a relatively quiet day of trading even before the atrocity in Nice is now likely to see investors remain on the sidelines as geopolitical issue takes centre stage.

"The subject of terrorism is sure to dominate headlines today, with attention also sure to focus on what this means for the evolving shape of the political landscape in France and the US, not to mention how the UK views this in light of having just voted to leave the EU," said Michael Van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.