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LONDON (AFP) – Stocks rose in quiet deals on Monday, with many traders away for the Christmas holidays, but British Airways shares were hit by freezing weather and travel chaos at London Heathrow airport.

The FTSE 100 added 0.51 percent to 5,901.70 points

"We seem to be drifting slowly higher, but I think unless we convincingly break 5,900 points in the FTSE, we may see the rally fizzle out as the impact the snow disruption is having starts to hit the economy," said Spread Co. trader Rajesh Patel.

British Airways shares, meanwhile, dived 1.15 percent to 267.1 pence as investors fretted about the financial impact of severe travel disruption.

Hundreds of Christmas travellers faced a third day stranded at Heathrow airport on Monday as icy conditions sparked a fresh round of flight delays and cancellations.

"British Airways had a cool start to the week thanks to the snow disruptions, but utilities and energy companies such as Centrica, National Grid and Scottish & Southern Energy had a warm glow about them thanks to the demand brought on by the cold snap," added Patel.

Over the weekend, heavy snow and thick ice all but closed Heathrow, the busiest international passenger air hub in the world, and forced holidaymakers to set up camp at the airport on Saturday night.

"The latest and heavier dose of severe weather is bad news for the UK economy," noted IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer.

"There will be a hit to the revenues and profits of the airlines, freight companies and other transport providers as airports are periodically shut and the transport system is gridlocked."

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