EasyJet : Mali attack weighing on airline stocks - traders

LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in easyJet and Ryanair fell 1 to 3 percent on Friday, underperforming the European travel and leisure index, with traders citing an attack on a luxury hotel in Mali and broker downgrades as reasons for the weakness.

Shares of British Airways owner IAG were also down 1.4 percent.

"Mali attacks (have led to) follow-on concerns," said Atif Latif, director at Guardian Stockbrokers.

Gunmen attacked the hotel full of foreigners in Mali's capital Bamako, taking 170 people hostage. A Turkish government official said six Turkish Airlines staff members were are among the people in the hotel.

Kepler Cheuvreux cut its rating on easyJet to "reduce" from "hold", while Barclays cut its target price for the stock.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash and Tricia Wright; Editing by Lionel Laurent)

Stocks treated in this article : Ryanair Holdings plc, easyJet plc