Shares of most US airlines rise as broader market falls

Sector Snap: Airline shares mostly higher

ATLANTA — Shares of most major U.S. carriers rose Tuesday as the broader stock market and oil prices fell.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 81.62 to 10,010.57. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 9.84 to 1,088.07, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 21.08 at 2,155.24.

Benchmark crude for November delivery fell $1.26 to $78.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day, a barrel ran as high as $80.05 as the euro came close to $1.50 against the dollar.

The AMEX Airline Index, meanwhile, rose a fraction with eight of 13 component stocks higher.

United Airlines parent UAL Corp. reported a money-losing third quarter on Tuesday but said it is beginning to see signs that business travel could pick up soon.

The recession has hurt business travel at all the big airlines. While United and other carriers have used discounts to fill seats, it will be tough to turn a profit unless higher-spending business travelers begin flying again.

UAL lost $57 million and revenue fell 20.3 percent to $4.43 billion. But the loss was smaller than analysts expected, and the revenue drop-off per passenger was 14.7 percent, less than in the second quarter.

Delta Air Lines Inc. shares rose 2 cents to $9.01, while shares of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. gained 15 cents, or 2 percent, at $7.60 and shares of UAL rose 59 cents, or 8.1 percent, to $7.85.

Continental Airlines Inc. shares rose 13 cents to $15.82, while US Airways Group Inc. shares added 14 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $4.32.

Southwest Airlines Co. shares fell 4 cents to $9.15, JetBlue Airways Corp. shares rose 7 cents to $6.01, and shares of AirTran Airways parent AirTran Holdings Inc. were unchanged at $5.37.

AMR, Continental and AirTran release third-quarter results on Wednesday, while Delta and US Airways release results on Thursday.