Airline stocks take a dive, led by American Airlines 13% plunge

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Airline stocks took a dive in premarket trading Thursday, as part of a sharp broader stock market selloff, after President Trump announced overnight that travel to Europe was being suspended. Shares of American Airlines Group Inc. plunged 13.5%, United Airlines Holdings Inc. tumbled 9.8% and Delta Air Lines Inc. dropped 9.8%. Meanwhile, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1,140 points, or 4.8%, ahead of the open. "Airline bookings have fallen off a cliff, with cancelations exceeding new bookings as travelers are afraid to fly," analyst Helane Becker at Cowen wrote in a note to clients. "As a result, we expect spring break trips to continue to be canceled, and no summer trips to be booked until the number of new cases peak." Elsewhere, shares of Southwest Airlines Co. slid 8.6% and JetBlue Airways Corp. fell 7.9%. The U.S. Global Jets ETF , which was indicated down about 13%, has shed 37% over the past month through Wednesday.