LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - European equities retreated onThursday, with weaker oil and metals prices putting pressure oncommodity stocks, while concerns about another U.S. rate hike inthe near-term also weighed on markets.
Airline, travel and leisure stocks also fell afterEgyptair said that one of its planes, carrying 66 passengers andcrew on a flight from Paris to Cairo, had gone missing.
Officials with the airline and the Egyptian civil aviationdepartment told Reuters they believed the Airbus A320had probably crashed into the sea.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which hadrisen 0.8 percent in the previous session, was down by 0.5percent in early session trading.
Shares in British holiday company Thomas Cook slumped 15 percent after Thomas Cook reported lower summerbookings, while Airbus' shares were down 0.9 percent. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
