French nuclear faults send gas prices to new record, but Omicron-affected shares gain on investor hopes

Travel-related shares fare better on hopes that restrictions will be short-lived, but EDF's discovery has sent gas prices soaring

A cooling tower and the two reactors of the nuclear power plant of Civaux, seen behind a colza field, in Civaux, central France. Picture: Guillaume Souvant/AFP via Getty Images

The price of wholesale gas reached a new record after faults were found at a French nuclear reactor but there was better news for airline and travel shares in Ireland and across the rest of Europe, as investors reassess the possible economic fallout despite the spread of the Omicron variant. 

French power giant EDF found faults at a nuclear power station and shut down another plant using the same kind of reactors, leading to a jump in the cost of wholesale gas which has increasingly been used to generate electricity amid the Europe-wide energy shortages this winter. EDF shares plunged.