It's a frustrating time to be bullish for the Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price.
Shares in Australia's leading airline have tanked another 2.37% to $4.54 on Tuesday.
At these levels, the Qantas share price has gone nowhere since November 2020.
Let's explore why Qantas shares continue to remain grounded this week.
Qantas share price under pressure following overnight selloff
Major indices overnight, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average and FTSE 100, tumbled more than 2% driven by increasing concerns of rising COVID-19 cases and a slowdown in economic growth.
Bloomberg described this move as a "reversal of the reopening trade that has powered this year's equity rally, cyclical companies bore the brunt of Monday's rout. Commodity, financial and industrial shares led losses in the S&P 500, which fell the most since May. Airlines and cruise operators tumbled amid concern over further travel restrictions."
Shares in aircraft manufacturer Boeing experienced the largest percentage decline on the Dow Jones last night, falling 4.94% to a 5-month low.
Similarly, major US airline shares including United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines tumbled 5.54%, 4.14% and 3.74% respectively.
It looks like the heavy selling overnight could be a factor weighing on the Qantas share price on Tuesday.
Lockdown woes continue
Lockdowns have proven costly for the Qantas share price.
On 20 May, the company flagged that a three-day lockdown in Perth during April cost an estimated $15 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA).
Furthermore, a Brisbane lockdown in late March and Sydney's Northern Beaches outbreak resulted in respective $29 million and $400 million hits to EBITDA.
Unfortunately, the lockdown situation in Australia is far from over.
This afternoon, South Australia announced that it will go into a 7-day lockdown from 6:00 pm tonight.
Victoria's 5-day snap lockdown, which was expected to end at midnight on Tuesday, has been extended by another 7 days until midnight on Tuesday, 27 July.
And finally, Greater Sydney will remain in lockdown until midnight on Friday, 30 July.
