By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Monday. March 9th. Please refresh for updates.
- 8:33 AM ET: Boeing (NYSE:BA) stock was down 10.1% at a three-and-a-half-year low after The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. air-safety regulators are poised to order it to re-route electrical wiring inside its 737 MAX jets before allowing it to fly again.
- The issue, which had previously been flagged by European regulators, is the latest complication and potential delay for the return of the 737 MAX to commercial service.
- 8:28 AM ET: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was down 7.6%, underperforming the broader market, as its high liquidity made it one of the easier stocks to sell.
- Chinese government data released earlier showed the Apple had sold fewer than 500,000 iPhones in China in February, down 60% from over 1.27 million a year ago.
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The figures fleshed out the scale of the disruption to Apple’s retail business from the coronavirus. The company had chosen not to give a new sales estimate for the quarter when it warned in February that it wouldn’t meet its original target.
- 8:19 AM ET: Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock fell 13.8% to $606, as January’s bubble continued to deflate. The stock is now down just over 38% from its all-time high.
- The 38.2% Fibonacci retracement, which would normally act as a reliable support level, is at just over $598.80.
- 8:14 AM ET (1208 GMT): Aon (NYSE:AON) stock fell 2.7%, outperforming the broader market, after announcing its agreement to combine with Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ:WLTW) in an all-stock deal that brings together the second- and third-largest insurance brokers.
- Aon said it expects some $800 million of annual synergies within three years of the deal completing, of which some $267 would accrue already in year one. That would make the deal immediately earnings-accretive.
- Oilfield services providers were the biggest victims of Saudi Arabia’s decision to launch an all-out price war in the crude oil market. Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) stock fell 24% and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) stock fell 21.2%,
- Saudi's price offensive threatens the viability of many of the two service providers’ clients, and will also force even stronger oil and gas producers to cut back heavily on upstream spending.
- Shale producers were routed across the board in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s move. Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) stock was down 32.6%, while Whiting Petroleum (NYSE:WLL) stock was down 31.3%.
- Diamondback Energy stock and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) stock fell 23% and 25%, respectively.
- Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) stock fell 15.7% to its lowest since 2003. Exxon is notionally better protected from the Saudi move because of its extensive downstream operations. Chevron (NYSE:CVX), another integrated major, saw its stock fall 15.6% to its lowest since 2015.
- Pure play refiners Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) and Valero (NYSE:VLO) were among the best-insulated against the rout, falling 7.7% and 8.9% respectively.