NEW YORK (Reuters) -Millions of Florida residents evacuated to higher ground after Hurricane Idalia, an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm, made landfall on Wednesday at the state’s Gulf Coast.
Idalia was forecast to unleash destructive winds and torrential downpours that will cause coastal flooding up to 16 feet (5 m) deep.
Most of Florida’s 21 million residents, and many in the adjacent states of Georgia and South Carolina, were under hurricane warnings and other storm-related advisories.
Here is a list of stocks and sectors that could be impacted by the storm:
POWER
Idalia has so far caused more than 140,000 homes and businesses to lose power in Florida. An early news briefing by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was interrupted for a few seconds by a power cut.
Shares of NextEra Energy, which owns the Florida Power & Light Company, the state’s largest utility, fell 0.52 $67.15.
Duke Energy said on Tuesday it mobilized over 5,000 responders as it prepared for power outages. Duke’s stock was down 0.27% at $90.05 early Wednesday.
Generac Holdings, which tends to rise ahead of major storms as investors bet on increased demand for the company’s home standby generators, was off 2.04% at $118.7. Its stock had risen in the five prior sessions.
ENERGY
Oil producer Chevron said on Tuesday it evacuated staff from three U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production platforms while Kinder Morgan planned to shut a petroleum pipeline, as the energy companies braced for Idalia.
Chevron shares edged up 0.21% to $160.3, while Kinder Morgan was little changed at $17.46.
AIRLINES
U.S. airlines canceled more than 850 flights as airports in Tampa, Clearwater and Tallahassee shut down operations and were monitoring the status of the storm.
Southwest Airlines canceled more than 200 flights, while Delta Air Lines and American Airlines canceled 148 and 98 flights, respectively, according to flight-tracking website Flightaware.com.
The S&P 500 passenger airline index was down 0.28%, with Delta Airlines and Southwest Airlines shedding about 0.5% each. American Airlines and Alaska Air Group lost 0.17% each.
INSURERS
Home and property insurance firms are likely to see claims rise as Idalia sweeps through the state, and the region.
Shares of insurers in the crosshairs are Universal Insurance Holdings, up 4.6%. Allstate Corporation rose 1.6% and American International Group added 0.29%.
RETAILERS / BUILDING MATERIALS SUPPLIERS
As homeowners look to repair and rebuild in Idalia’s aftermath, home improvement retailers and construction supplies firms may see an uptick in demand.
Home Depot was up 1.06%, while Lowe’s Companies was up 1.48%.
Owens Corning’s shares rose 0.82% and Beacon Roofing Supply’s stock gained 0.4% on the session.
(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; editing by Lance Tupper and Marguerita Choy)
