Gaming, Travel Stocks Fall Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

By Dave Sebastian

Stocks of gaming, airlines, lodging and online-travel-agency companies declined in premarket trading Monday as global stocks fall on fears surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.

Shares of casinos with operations in Macau such as Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) and MGM Resorts International (MGM) fell 6%, 5.7% and 3.4%, respectively.

"We expect the news flow to continue to evolve, given the Chinese government cancellation of tours globally and the most extreme possibility of the Macau government shutting down all casinos," Jefferies gaming, leisure and lodging analyst David Katz said in a note to clients. "At present the impact on estimates and the stocks near term, remain speculative."

Shares of airlines, some of which have allowed customers to cancel or change flights with no fee, also fell. United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL), American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) were off 3.5%, 3.4% and 3.1%, respectively. American depositary shares of China Eastern Airlines Corp. (CEA) and China Southern Airlines Co. Ltd. (ZNH) were down 7.1% and 5.3%, respectively.

ADRs of Chinese online-travel agency Trip.com Group Ltd. (TCOM) were off 9.4%. Shares of Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE), TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) and Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) fell 4.1%, 3.8% and 2.6%, respectively.

Shares of Marriott International Inc. (MAR), Hyatt Hotels Corp. (H) and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) declined 2.2%, 2.1% and 2.1%, respectively. Shares of cruise lines Carnival Corp. (CCL), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) respectively fell 3.2%, 4.2% and 3.1%.

Mr. Katz said the travel restrictions in and around Wuhan and cancellations of Lunar New Year events would weigh on companies' first-quarter results. "But how large and will it linger onward remain the questions," he said, adding that a "Buy on weakness" call would be premature.

The pneumonialike virus has infected more than 2,700 people and killed at least 80, the vast majority in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital.

Write to Dave Sebastian at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2020 08:05 ET (13:05 GMT)

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