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* Airlines, cruise liners tank on Europe travel ban
* Lack of public health measures in Trump's address spooks
market
* Futures down: Dow 5.22%, S&P 5.08%, Nasdaq 5.02%
(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh
March 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to sink into a bear
market on Thursday, with airline stocks in a tailspin after
President Donald Trump's shock move to suspend travel from
Europe.
The S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC , which closed 19%
below their record close on Feb. 19, were set to plunge at the
open after futures hit a 5% daily down trading limit for the
second time this week.
The Dow Jones Industrials .DJI already confirmed a bear
market at the close on Wednesday as it fell more than 20% from
its Feb. 12 closing high, halting the longest bull run in U.S.
history.
American Airlines AAL.O and United Airlines UAL.O
cratered more than 15% in premarket trading, while cruise liners
Carnival Corp CCL.N and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N
tumbled more than 12%.
Boeing BA.N slumped another 14.8% after J.P.Morgan gave up
on its long-term "overweight" rating on the planemaker's shares.
The stock, already under pressure from the grounded 737 MAX
jets, has lost 42% this year on the added hit from the
coronavirus to the travel sector. "It's not just the fear of the economy going weak but
basically being on the brink of shutting down," said Dennis
Dick, proprietary trader at Bright Trading LLC in Las Vegas.
"It's mass selling across the board ... We are pricing in a
potential to go into another financial crisis."
Online travel agents Expedia Group Inc EXPE.O and Booking
Holdings Inc BKNG.O as well as hotel operator Marriott
International MAR.O and casino operator Wynn Resorts WYNN.O
shed more than 10%.
Investors were also distressed about the absence of targeted
stimulus measures and the lack of details about the public
health response after Trump made no mention of widely expected
payroll tax cuts. However, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are
expected to pass a bill that would grant workers 14 days of paid
sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical
leave. The CBOE Volatility index .VIX , a gauge of investor
anxiety, rose about 9 points to 62.81, its highest levels since
the 2008 financial crisis as the death toll from the virus rose
to over 4,600 worldwide.
At 8:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 1,231
points, or 5.22%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 139.25
points, or 5.08% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 402
points, or 5.02%.