Airlines Slump in Premarket on United Update; Disney Drops By Investing.com

By Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com — Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Monday, 20th April. Please refresh for updates.

• United Airlines (NASDAQ:) stock was down 6.0% after the airline reported a $2.1 billion quarterly loss and a 17% drop in revenue in the three months to March.
• The airline also said it has applied for as much as $4.5 billion more in government loans on top of th $5 billion in payroll grants already disclosed.
• United is the first of the major airlines to report this quarter. The news also helped to drag American Airlines (NASDAQ:) stock and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:) stock down over 4%. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:) stock fell 2.2%.
• DuPont (NYSE:) stock rose 3.8% after the chemical company reported first-quarter earnings ahead of consensus and said it had secured commitments for up to $3 billion in new financing that should avoid any refinancing accidents later this year.
• Walt Disney (NYSE:) stock fell 2.7% after a couple of broker downgrades that were driven by the likelihood of prolonged closures to its parks and experiences division.
• The division was responsible for around half of operating profits last year. The company is to stop paying nearly 100,000 employees at the division this week, although it will continue to cover health care costs.
• Novartis (NYSE:) ADRs were up 0.4% at their highest in seven weeks after the company said it had received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to start trials assessing the effectiveness of its malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19.