(Reuters) - British travel and leisure stocks fell on Wednesday after media reports that the country could impose tougher COVID-19 rules as early as Thursday in an attempt to curb the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The UK travel and leisure index declined as much as 1.5%. It later pared losses to trade 0.5% lower after BioNTech and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) said a three-shot course of their vaccine was able to neutralise the Omicron variant.
Airlines Easyjet (LON:EZJ), Wizz Air (LON:WIZZ) and British Airways owner IAG (LON:ICAG), and public transport companies FirstGroup, Stagecoach and National Express dropped between 2.5% and 4%.
Leisure stocks such as cinema chain operator Cineworld, pubs Wetherspoon and Mitchells & Butlers (LON:MAB), and Restaurant Group slid 2%-5%.
The tougher rules could include advice to work from home as well as COVID-19 passports for large venues, the reports said.
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office had no immediate comment on the reports.