Global airline stocks trade lower as investors brace for earnings

The global airline sector traded lower on Friday as investors took a more defensive position ahead of the wave of Q1 earnings reports and with oil prices on the rise.

While Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) knocked out record revenue with its earnings report, analysts have warned on the potential for guidance and capacity cuts due to macroeconomic factors and the Boeing (BA) production slowdown. Earlier on Friday, Southwest Airlines (LUV) warned that it only expects about 20 deliveries this year, which is less than half of its forecast from just a month ago.

Notable decliners included Azul S.A. (AZUL) -7.5%, (OTCPK:AFLYY) -7.3%, Frontier Group (ULCC) -6.0%, Ryanair Holdings (RYAAY) -5.9%, Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación (VLRS) -5.4%, International Consolidated Airlines Group (OTCPK:ICAGY) -5.0%, JetBlue (JBLU) -4.5%, Sun Country Airlines(SNCY) -4.5%, LATAM Airlines Group S.A. (OTCPK:LTMAY) -4.0%, United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) -3.7%, American Airlines Group (AAL) -3.6%, and Copa (CPA) -3.3%.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSEARCA:JETS) showed a 2.88% decline in late morning trading. The catch-all airline ETF has trailed broad market returns on a year-to-date and 52-week basis.