Daily market update: Vistry and Jet2

The best performing country index year-to-date is now in a bear market. It’s a bizarre situation where investors backing this index could have made huge money in the first six months of the year, yet suffered a big drop in recent weeks.

Someone who bought a fund tracking South Korea’s Kospi index at the start of 2026 would have made a 116% return by 22 June excluding charges. Those are eye-watering returns driven by investors racing to buy AI-related chip stocks. The Kospi has now done a handbrake turn. The index is down 26% since the June peak, meaning it is technically in a bear market. That’s defined by a market dropping 20% or more from the recent highs.

Investors have been spooked in recent weeks by fears of excessive spending in the AI world and rich valuations in parts of the tech space, causing widespread profit-taking. If this trend continues, the likes of Anthropic and OpenAI might find it harder to muster up top-level support for their IPOs and their stock market listings could be delayed.

It doesn’t help that the Middle East conflict has intensified again, causing oil prices to go back up. Major stock indices fell across most of Asia and Europe, including a 0.7% drop in the FTSE 100. Not even BP and Shell’s gains off the back of a higher oil price could save the UK market. Pharma, miners, banks and tobacco acted as a major headwind for the index, suggesting that investors weren’t simply in risk-off mode; they were feeling particularly nervous.

Vistry

Vistry’s shares fell on a gloomy trading update and news that chief financial officer Tim Lawlor was jumping ship.

Investors have been getting jumpy about the state of the housebuilding and broader construction industry. Raw material and labour cost pressures have haunted the sector of late, and the prospect of possible interest rate hikes is bad news for mortgage affordability and housing sales.

Vistry only recently changed CEO, and a review of the business is still ongoing. New boss Adam Daniels strikes an optimistic tone, but he’s putting on a brave face in what’s clearly a tough market.

Jet2

Jet2’s results could have been a lot worse considering the final month of its financial year was dogged by the Middle East conflict which caused travellers to worry and fuel costs to soar. While full-year pre-tax profit fell by 7%, it still flew record passenger numbers and says business has picked up in recent weeks. That’s triggered a major relief rally in its shares.

Jet2 is not alone in suffering from disruption earlier this year. The entire travel sector experienced major challenges and that’s fed through to a demand wobble. The focus is now on bouncing back and Jet2 is trying to fill its planes and sell as many package holidays as possible. The reference to ‘targeted price investment’ is jargon for Jet2 cutting prices to encourage sales. That suggests the recent pick-up in trading might not necessarily be the most profitable, but any momentum in the business is welcome given the difficult backdrop.

A new £250 million share buyback implies confidence at the top. Management wouldn’t be spending this money if they needed to batten down the hatches for fear of more trouble ahead in the travel sector. A resurgence of tensions in the Middle East just hours before Jet2 reported its results is a stark reminder that the Iran war is not over, and that travel companies cannot be complacent. Brent crude jumped 3.2% to $76.51, once again putting cost pressures on Jet2 and its peers.

Jet2 will be keeping a close eye on current events, but it also has its eye on the longer-term prize. That includes setting up shop in Gatwick which is a major development for Jet2. While it only has a small presence in the airport so far, it puts the brand into the ecosystem for one of the UK’s biggest travel hubs. Essentially, it’s a foot in the door with the hope of having a much bigger presence over time.