WASHINGTON: Airline and automaker stocks took off on Tuesday and helped U.S. indexes push a bit further into record territory. Trading was again quiet overall, with only modest moves for bond yields, commodities and other markets. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 5.46 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,534.58 for its sixth straight day of gains. The Dow Jones industrial average was up by 84.07, or 0.4 percent, to 22,641.67, and the Nasdaq composite added 15.00 points, or 0.2 percent, at 6,531.71. The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks added 2.49, or 0.2 percent, to 1,511.97. All four indexes are at records.
Airlines led the way after Delta Air Lines updated its forecast for third-quarter results. The Atlanta-based carrier expects to report roughly 2 percent growth in a key revenue measurement, which would be at the high end of the forecast range it had given a month earlier, after accounting for the hit that it took from Hurricane Irma. Delta jumped US$3.18, or 6.6 percent, to US$51.25 for its best day since January 2015. United Continental, American Airlines Group and Southwest Airlines also each gained by more than 4 percent. Outside of airlines and a handful of other big movers, though, markets were generally quiet.
