Most airline shares rise as broader stock market heads higher

Sector Snap: Most airline shares higher

ATLANTA — Despite a rise in oil prices, airline shares were mostly higher Monday as the broader stock market was up.

The AMEX Airline Index rose three-quarters of 1 percent in afternoon trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 73.08, or 0.9 percent, to 8,511.47. The S&P 500 index rose 6.65, or 0.7 percent, to 925.55, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.21, or 0.3 percent, to 1,844.43.

Crude oil, meanwhile, rose $2.33 to settle at $71.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after Nigerian militants damaged and partly shut down an offshore oil platform belonging to Royal Dutch Shell.

In airline news, the Justice Department is opposing Continental Airlines Inc.’s broad request for antitrust immunity to work more closely with United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp., and other carriers on international service.

The department says the airlines should get more limited immunity. It argues that broader immunity could hurt competition on other routes including between the U.S. and China and even raise fares within the United States.

Continental wants antitrust immunity to cooperate with United and other Star Alliance airlines in setting prices and schedules for international service.

Other members of the Star Alliance include US Airways Group Inc., Lufthansa and Air Canada.

In afternoon trading, shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 17 cents, or 3 percent, to $5.87, while shares of AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, rose 1 cent to $4.26 and shares of UAL fell 1 cent to $3.47. Shares of Continental rose 17 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $8.95, while shares of US Airways fell 9 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $2.26.

Southwest Airlines Co. shares rose 14 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $6.70, while shares of JetBlue Airways Corp. rose 3 cents to $4.34 and shares of AirTran Holdings Inc., parent of AirTran Airways, rose 34 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $6.30.