(Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 index inched higher on Monday, helped by gains for several rival tour operators and airlines after the collapse of Thomas Cook and positive approvals news for drugmaker AstraZeneca.
The FTSE 100 <.FTSE> inched up by 0.2% by 0712 GMT, while the FTSE 250 index of midcaps <.FTMC> edged 0.1% lower, outperforming losses of around a third of a percent for Europe's broad STOXX index <.STOXX>
Tour operator TUI <TUIT.L>, airlines Ryanair <RYA.L>, British Airways owner IAG <ICAG.L> and easyJet <EZJ.L> jumped between 4% and 8% as traders bet the Thomas Cook bankruptcy would cut some overcapacity in the market.
AstraZeneca rose around 1.5% after its diabetes treatment Qtrilmet moved a step closer to European Union approval on Friday.
(Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham)
