IGT - Why Casino-Supplier Stocks Dropped and Then Rebounded on Thursday
Shares of companies that supply casinos and lotteries with products like slot machines and technology services dropped like a rock in early trading Thursday, only to recover most of their losses in the afternoon. Shares of IGT (NYSE: IGT) dropped as much as 11.3% in the first half-hour of the day, were trading in the black by noon, were down just 0.8% this afternoon. The stock of Scientific Games (NASDAQ: SGMS) fell 12.6% early, but later was down just 0.75%. And Everi Holdings (NYSE: EVRI) dropped 10.1% early and recovered to a loss of 1.5% by the afternoon.
The big drop in shares this morning coincided with the market falling nearly 2% after unemployment data was released. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that 2.98 million people filed for unemployment last week, pushing the new jobless claims number to 36 million since shutdowns related to COVID-19 began. Not surprisingly, volatile stocks like those related to the casino industry magnified the losses.
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