By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Monday, 20th April. Please refresh for updates.
- United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) 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:AAL) stock and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) stock down over 4%. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) stock fell 2.2%.
- DuPont (NYSE:DD) 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:DIS) 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:NVS) 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.
- Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) stock fell 11.2% as front-month crude futures cratered under pressure from intense oversupply in the spot market for oil. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) stock fell 6.4% and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) stock fell 5.6%.
- Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)stock edged 0.5% higher on enduring optimism that it will benefit from a long-term shift to online shopping after the Covid-19 outbreak. The company is now trading at 103 times trailing 12-month earnings. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) removed it from its "Fresh Money" list on Monday and recommended locking in profits after its recent outperformance.