Threat to Air Travel Is About to Hand $3.6 Billion ETF a Bad Day

(Bloomberg) -- Resurgent virus fears and likely new lockdowns in Europe are lashing the world’s biggest ETF tied to international travel. 

The $3.6 billion US Global Jets exchange-traded fund (ticker JETS) plunged 6.7% in early trading as of 8:15 a.m. in New York, set for the biggest decline since June last year.

It’s a bitter blow for JETS, which has struggled for traction this year. Air travel has been slow to revive, and related equities have been left behind as other areas of the market rallied.

Now, the sector is slumping in premarket trading on growing concern about a new Covid-19 variant identified in southern Africa. The European Union is proposing to halt air travel from the area.

Recently JETS had begun to see the biggest inflows in months as the U.S. restored flights to dozens of countries including those in Europe. Not everyone has been confident. Short interest in the ETF also climbed to 3% of shares outstanding. That’s the highest in more than a year, according to data from IHS Markit Ltd.

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