Airline shares hit by blizzard as flights cancelled
NEW YORK: Airline shares tumbled ahead of an expected blizzard in the US Northeast that caused the cancelation of thousands of flights, while US stocks overall finished little changed.
American Airlines and United Continental each lost about 3.5 per cent as the Northeast braced for what was projected to be the worst snowstorm of the season, with the potential to dump two feet of snow in some areas, including New York and Boston.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1 per cent to end the trading day at 20,881.48.
The broad- based S& P 500 added less than 0.1 per cent to close at 2,373.48, while the techrich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2 per cent to 5,875.78.
The expected whiteout competed for attention with the Federal Reserve, which is likely to raise the benchmark interest rate at the conclusion of the two- day policy meeting Wednesday following a run of mostly strong economic data.
“The market is expecting a rate increase,” said David Levy, portfolio manager at Republic Wealth Advisors.
“But more importantly, the market is trying to understand from the Fed what the rest of the year in future rate hikes may potentially look like.”
Dow member Intel dropped 2.1 per cent after announcing an agreement to buy Israeli car technology firm Mobileye a deal worth more than US$15 billion.
Yahoo rose 1.3 per cent as it announced that board member Thomas McInerney will lead the business that remains after the internet company sells its core assets to Verizon.
Pandora Media climbed 2.1 per cent as it launched a premium on- demand service, hoping to strengthen growth in a streaming market dominated by Spotify. — AFP