It has been an absolutely horrible day for ASX shares so far this Friday. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down by a nasty 2.3% and back under 7,200 points. But the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is doing far worse.
Qantas shares are currently down by 3.7% so far today at $5.44 a share. That's a clear underperformance of the broader market.
So what's going on with Qantas shares? Why is the Flying Kangaroo dropping by so much more than the ASX 200?
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Why is the Qantas share price caught in a tailspin today?
Well, it's not entirely clear. Qantas hasn't come out with any new news or announcements this Friday. Saying that, the company did have a big announcement yesterday. On Thursday morning, Qantas revealed that it is looking to fully acquire Alliance Aviation Services Ltd (ASX: AQZ), an air charter operator. Qantas will pay $4.75 in Qantas shares for every Alliance share owned.
But investors didn't seem to be happy with this news yesterday. On a day when the ASX 200 rose by 0.8%, the Qantas share price fell by 0.35%. So it's possible that negative sentiment surrounding this deal is still spilling into Qantas shares today.
Saying that, other ASX travel shares are also getting whacked today. Take Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD). Its shares are currently down by 4.2%. Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) shares have lost 3.2% so far today. And the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has dropped by 1.7%.
So perhaps the Qantas share price has just been caught up in the same tailspin as the other ASX travel shares. Whatever the reason, it has certainly not been a fun day to be a Qantas shareholder. No doubt investors will be hoping for a fresh start next week.
At the current Qantas Airways share price, this ASX 200 airliner has a market capitalisation of $4.7 billion.
