UTC Leads Dow Losers as Wall Street Rout over Coronavirus Continues

United Technologies Corp. had the worst performance Thursday among the 30 industrial components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average as investors dumped stocks on renewed worries over the spread of the coronavirus.

Shares of the aviation, aerospace and building systems manufacturer closed the day at $126.44, down more than 9%.

Boeing Co., which has been reeling following the grounding of the 737 Max after two fatal crashes, was down 8%, at $260.37.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. was the only company on the index that ended the day up, closing at $48.78, advancing by 9 cents.

The Dow lost about 970 points, or 3.6%, erasing most of the gains on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks tumbled and bond yields dropped to new lows, continuing market turbulence as investors around the world remain jittery about the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

Since the outbreak of the respiratory illness in China in late January, travel and tourism have been particularly hard hit as events and other gatherings have been canceled. UTC has doubled down on aviation since 2012 when it paid $18 billion for Goodrich Corp., a manufacturer of aerospace parts and components.

In 2018, UTC paid $30 billion for Rockwell Collins Inc., an Iowa manufacturer of cockpit, cabin, navigation and airport equipment and components. Last year, it merged with defense giant Raytheon Co. and is set to rebrand itself as Raytheon Technologies Corp. and move to the Boston area in April.

UTC is spinning off its two building systems businesses — Otis Elevator and the Carrier heating and cooling manufacturing business — as it focuses on aviation and aerospace. Its big bet in aviation is paying off as it has consistently posted quarterly double-digit increases in revenue.

Aviation is now taking a hit from the virus and fears of its global spread. The International Air Transport Association on Thursday said it expects losses deepening due to the coronavirus. The industry group increased its projected 2020 global revenue losses for the passenger business to between $63 billion and $113 billion from a Feb. 20 projection of $29.3 billion in lost revenue.

The virus has since spread to more than 80 countries and “forward bookings have been severely impacted on routes beyond China,” the industry group said.

Stephen Singer can be reached at [email protected].

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