Airline stocks hit a pocket of turbulence yesterday as Wall Street reacted to the news of the Christmas Day attempt to bring down a Northwest Airlines flight bound for Detroit.
Delta Air Lines — Northwest’s parent — slipped 4.1 percent, or 48 cents, to $11.29, but AMR, the company that owns American Airlines, the nation’s largest carrier, posted the sharpest decline, down 4.8 percent, or 39 cents, to $7.75.
United Airlines’ parent, UAL, was off 3.4 percent to $12.64, and Continental Airlines dropped 3.1 percent to $17.92.
While analysts noted the descent was enhanced by the low trading volume that is typical the week after Christmas, the attempt by a Nigerian national to detonate a bomb aboard a flight from Amsterdam abruptly halted gains the airline sector has made in recent weeks.
The 13-carrier Bloomberg US Airlines Index last week traded to its highest level in a year on bets that travel demand was improving. But that index fell nearly 3 percent yesterday, the first trading day since the news broke.
Nevertheless, other blue-chip stocks performed well, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 26.98 points to 10,547.08 — its highest level since October 2008.
Elsewhere, the S&P 500 index added 1.30 to 1,127.78 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index increased 5.39 to 2,291.08.
The broader market was helped by data that showed consumer spending between Thanksgiving and Christmas outpaced last year’s dismal showing, lifting stocks of brick-and-mortar retailers.
Macy’s gained 1.1 percent, Gap added 1.4 percent and JC Penney rose 1.3 percent. Post staff