Boeing urges all airlines to inspect 737 MAX jets

TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets close for trading Thursday, December 28th.

Full Video Transcript Below:

J.D. DURKIN: I’m J.D. Durkin reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks were in the green to close out today's session. The Dow closed x, the Nasdaq closed x, and the S&P closed x. This comes as investors look ahead to the final trading day of the year. All three major averages are on pace to finish out 2023 in the green, with the S&P 500 just points away from notching a record high.

Looking ahead to 2024, investors will be keeping a close eye on a number of factors, including interest rates, inflation, and the labor market. Experts are split on whether or not a recession will occur in the year ahead.

In other news, Boeing’s 737 MAX jet is once again making headlines, and once again, it isn’t for a good reason. The company released a statement saying an unidentified airline found a loose bolt in the plane's rudder system, which helps stabilize the plane during flight. The issue was caught during a maintenance check, not during a flight. Boeing is now urging all airlines to inspect their jets for the same problem.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the part is considered critical to the aircraft’s safety and requires two different people to sign off on its inspection. The FAA said it will "consider additional action based on any further discovery of loose or missing hardware."

The plane has been at the forefront of controversy in recent years. After two crashes killed 346 people in 2019, Boeing grounded the 737 MAX for 20 months, costing the company more than $20 billion. The planes have required several additional inspections since returning to the skies in 2020.

Boeing has 1,370 737 MAX jets in service worldwide.

That’s your daily briefing from the New York Stock Exchange. I’m J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.