Why Airlines Here Hot Today
Stocks were
lower after a morning rally fueled by the surprise early handover in Iraq.
Before selling off, the Nasdaq saw the
highest levels since April. Because of security concerns, the United States
transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi government two days ahead of schedule,
capping 14 months of occupation; 138,000 US troops will remain in Iraq.Â
The Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo detainees may get hearings to challenge
their captivity. Â US consumer spending
rose more than expected, with inflation accounting for half of the gain. The Fed
is meeting starting Tuesday and they are expected to raise interest rates by at
least 25 basis points, the first time in four years. Oil prices fell 4% to the
$36 level and airline stocks were up on the news, with Jet Blue
(
JBLU |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
making new seven-month highs. Air traffic rose 19% from January to May; freight
traffic was up 12%.
United Airlines
(
UAL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
was denied a loan guarantee from the US Air Transportation Stabilization Board
for the third and final time. The board did not believe United needs the loan,
as the company has sufficient cash on hand and can operate safely and
efficiently. Elan
(
ELN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose after receiving priority review for its
multiple sclerosis drug from the FDA. WalMart
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) warned its
same-store sales for June would be below forecasts on poor Father’s day demand
and cool weather. It now forecasts a 3% increase.
| Dow | -14.75 | 10357.09 |
| S&P 500 | +7.68 | 1142.56 |
| Nasdaq | -5.65 | 2019.82 |
Strong today were Internet
(
GIN.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) +0.97%, Airlines
(
XAL.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) 0.67%, Drugs
(
DRG.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
+0.35%.
Weak today were Gold
(
XAU.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-2.74%, Disk Drives
(
DDX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) -2.41% and Oil Services
(
OSX.X |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
-2.15%.
Economic news release today:
personal income that rose by 0.6% and personal spending also up 1.0%
10-year Notes were -230
at 108 085
The dollar
was -0.16 at 88.71
Gold was -2.20 at 400.3
Crude Oil was -1.35 at
36.20
Volume was 1.35 billion
on the NYSE, and 1.58 billion on the Nasdaq.
Market breadth was positive.
| NYSE | Issues | |
| Advancing | 1494 | Up Vol 501 |
| Declining | 1774 | Down Vol 716 |
| Ratio | 1.18 | 1.42 |
| Nasdaq |
||
| Advancing | 1365 | Up Vol 497 |
| Declining | 1774 | Down Vol 968 |
| Ratio | 1.29 | 1.97 |
Stocks in the news:
Amgen
(
AMGN |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) is lower after
reporting its GDNF drug for the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease did
not meet study expectations.
Novell
(
NOVL |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) fell after
announcing plans to sell $450 million of convertible debt.
Altria
(
MO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) rose after a judge
allowed the company to appeal the ruling that allowed the federal government to
sue the industry for $280 billion.
Bristol-Myers Squibb
(
BMY |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) said
they would pad its liability reserves by $400 million on an inventory scandal in
which the company inflated its earnings between 11999 and 2001.
Brice Wightman
bricew@tradingmarkets.com
Â