Why Airline Stocks Are Losing Altitude Today
The latest Federal Reserve rate hike and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's vow to do whatever is necessary to fight inflation are rippling through markets, sending shares down due to investor fears that the Fed's actions will push the economy into a recession. Sectors that are deemed more discretionary, and therefore easier for consumers to pull back from should times get tough, are getting hit harder than most.
Travel is perhaps the ultimate big-ticket discretionary purchase, and airline stocks are tumbling as part of the broader sell-off. Shares of JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU), American Airlines Group (NASDAQ: AAL), and United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ: UAL) are all down as much as 5%, with shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) all down 3% or more.
Airline investors have had plenty to worry about over the last two years. The pandemic brought the industry to a near halt, and efforts to bounce back in 2022 have been hindered by higher-than-expected fuel and labor costs and a shortage of qualified flight crews.
Source Fool.com
