Travel-Tied Stocks Slide as Covid-19 Jitters Spook Traders

(Bloomberg) -- Investors are running away from companies that stand to benefit from a return to normalcy as Covid-19 cases mount in the U.S. and the virus wreaks havoc in Europe. 

Cruise ship operators Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings Ltd. each closed down more than 2% Friday as investors piled into less risky assets. The S&P 500 Index, by contrast, fell 0.1%. 

Airlines and hotels are also among the worst performers in the stock market, with operators ranging from United Airlines Holdings Inc. to Delta Air Lines Inc. slumping alongside lodging stocks like Airbnb Inc.

The selloff in companies tied to consumers spending money on travel has accelerated over the past two weeks as reports of surging cases in Europe and hot spots in the Mountain West fueled worries about what could lie ahead this winter. 

Travel-exposed stocks account for 12 of the 20 worst performers in the S&P 500 since Nov. 5 when cracks first started to show for the latest wave of Covid’s spread. Norwegian Cruise is down 20% since then while Carnival and Royal Caribbean have fallen more than 16%, and MGM Resorts International, Southwest Airlines Group Inc., and United Airlines have dropped more than 10%. That compares to a roughly flat S&P 500 over the same time frame.

Ride sharing stocks fell with Uber Technologies Inc. losing 1.7% and Lyft Inc. tumbling 3.6%. Movie theater operator Cinemark Holdings Inc. slumped 5.8%.

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