FTSE hit by sell-off in energy shares; travel stocks gain

By Sam Wilkin LONDON (Reuters) - FTSE ended the week slightly lower after oil's plunge dragged down energy stocks and offset gains for travel and consumer stocks set to benefit from cheaper fuel. The FTSE 100 index closed down 0.01 percent at 6,722.62 points after falling as far as 6,667.08, its lowest since Nov. 20. The UK Oil and Gas index was down 2.9 percent, after touching its lowest level since October 2011. BP, BG Group, Tullow Oil and Royal Dutch Shell fell between 1.5 and 8.8 percent, while mid-cap Premier Oil sank 13.4 percent. Brent crude oil was trading at around $71.81 a barrel on Friday, close to a four-year low reached on Thursday when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to agree on a production cut despite global oversupply. "The OPEC decision to maintain output is having a negative impact on the sector. Resources sectors such as oil and mining will continue to underperform over coming months," said John B. Smith, senior fund manager at Brown Shipley. Benefiting from the slide in oil, the UK Travel & Leisure index rose 1.6 percent to an all-time high, while the financial, consumer staples and telecoms sectors all boosted the blue-chip FTSE 100 index in afternoon trading. Traders said that falling energy prices were likely to spur further gains in consumer, travel and leisure stocks. "The consumer spend and discretionary sector will be a primary beneficiary as we approach Christmas, and we're also expecting more gains for airlines," said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG. Miners came under pressure as copper slid to an eight-month low, with the oil rout adding to recent worries over slowing global growth and prompting selling across the commodities complex. The UK mining index fell 2.0 percent while blue chip BHP Billiton was down 3.2 percent. (Additional reporting by Atul Prakash and Alistair Smout; Editing by Kevin Liffey/Ruth Pitchford)