Southwest turns lower after Trump announces all Boeing 737 Max jets will be grounded immediately

Markets Insider

Southwest shares.

• Southwest Airlines shares turned negative on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced all Boeing 737 Max jets will be grounded immediately.
• The announcement came three days after the second deadly crash in five months that involved a 737 Max aircraft.
• Watch Southwest Airlines trade in real-time.

Shares of Southwest Airlines turned lower on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said the US would immediately ground all Boeing 737 Max jets following the aircraft's second deadly crash in five months.

Of all US airlines, Southwest has the largest exposure to Boeing's 737 Max aircraft. Other airlines with exposure to the 737 Max planes include American, United, and Air Canada.

Southwest shares initially traded higher on Wednesday before turning negative, losing as much as 3% once Trump announced the decision. Boeing also fell into negative territory following the president's announcement while United Continental and American both pared their gains.

Trump's decision followed announcements from Canada, Europe, and nearly 50 other countries to ground Boeing's 737 Max planes.

"We have been in contact with Boeing and will continue to stay close to the investigation as it progresses," Southwest said in a statement to Business Insider.

Southwest shares were up 8.4% this year through Tuesday.

Read more on Boeing's 737 Max 8 and the Ethiopian Airlines disaster:

• Everything we know about Ethiopian Airlines' deadly crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8, the second disaster involving the plane in 5 months
• Norwegian Air reportedly tells Boeing to 'take this bill' after grounding its fleet of 18 Boeing 737 Max planes
• This map shows all the countries to ban the Boeing 737 Max 8, and where airlines have grounded their fleets, after Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157
• Elected officials are calling on the US government to ground the Boeing 737 Max 8 after the plane was involved in 2 deadly crashes
• Boeing's CEO reportedly asked President Trump not to ground the company's plane that has crashed twice in 5 months
• Pilots complained to authorities about issues with the Boeing 737 Max for months before the deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash
• The US government says it has no reason to ground the Boeing 737 MAX that has crashed twice since October
• These airlines will likely take the biggest hit after the Boeing 737 Max was involved in two deadly crashes

Get the latest Boeing stock price here.