Hurricane Irma’s destructive power has already been felt throughout much of the Caribbean, and soon the tropical storm will hit Florida. With evacuations already underway throughout much of the state, and a great deal of damage projected, construction stocks and ETFs climbed on Friday.
Irma Update
New forecasts don’t look good for Florida, as there is now only a microscopic chance that the hurricane doesn’t hit the state almost directly.
“This is a catastrophic storm that this state has never seen,” Florida Governor Rick Scott said in a televised statement on Friday morning. “Based on what we now know, the majority of Florida will have major hurricane impacts, with deadly storm surge and life-threatening winds.”
In preparation for #HurricaneIrma, I’m activating the Florida Disaster Fund to help support families & communities: https://t.co/dWpP4BeR68
— Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) September 8, 2017
The tropical storm has already killed at least 19 people in the Caribbean. And although Hurricane Irma has been downgraded to a Category 4 storm by the National Hurricane Center, its winds are still whipping at 155 mph.
Hurricane warnings are in place throughout much of southern Florida, where more than 6 million people live, and current projections show Irma continuing through most of Florida up into the southeastern U.S. until Monday night.
Tropical storm winds are likely to arrive in the FL Keys and south FL Saturday. Preparations should be rushed to completion. #Irma pic.twitter.com/eto2KVWtgP
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 8, 2017
“Severe hurricane conditions are expected over portions of the Florida peninsula and the Florida Keys beginning Saturday night. Irma is likely to make landfall in southern Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, and bring life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts to much of the state,” the NHC said in a statement on Friday morning.
Construction Stocks
As the Hurricane Harvey recovery process starts in the Houston area and some of southwestern Louisiana, Irma’s devastation is just about to begin. The two storms will—in all likelihood—lead to billions of dollars’ worth of damage to homes, buildings, and infrastructure in both areas.
Still, despite the seemingly distasteful nature, this perfect storm has caused construction stocks to pop on Friday.
Shares of construction equipment giant Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) gained 0.45% on Friday. Other companies in the industry also saw their stock prices rise before Irma makes landfall in Florida. Gibraltar Industries (NASDAQ:ROCK) stock jumped over 1.50%, while shares of United Rentals (NYSE:URI) and NCI Building Systems (NYSE:NCS) both climbed over 3.50%.
In preparation for the newest storm, construction and infrastructure ETFs saw gains as well. Shares of the SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE:XHB) ETF XHB, the PowerShares Dynamic Building & Const ETF PKB, and the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (WA:ITB) all leapt higher.
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NCI Building Systems, Inc. (NCS): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK): Free Stock Analysis Report
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