Airlines plunge; stocks finish day mixed

U.S. stocks spent a second day flipping between small gains and losses Thursday as investors again looked for hints about the Trump administration’s stance on international trade and the dollar. Major indexes ended the day mixed as airlines plunged while biotech drugmakers climbed.

Airlines suffered a second day of sharp losses as investors worried about rising costs and the possibility of lower air fares. Retailers and technology companies slipped, but health care companies including Biogen and Celgene rose.

The dollar made small recovery in the afternoon after President Donald Trump said he wants to see a stronger U.S. currency. The dollar has fallen to three-year lows, and it fell further on Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said there were advantages to the dollar’s weakness over the last year.

Investors took that to mean the administration wouldn’t do much to prop up the dollar. Mnuchin said Thursday that he supports a stronger dollar over a longer term.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Dow Jones industrial average still rose enough to set more records, but stocks have wobbled this week as investors monitored the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to get a sense of how the Trump administration’s nationalist stance might affect global trade.

The S&P 500 inched up 1.71 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,839.25. The Dow average climbed 140.67 points, or 0.5 percent, to 26,392.79. The Nasdaq composite fell 3.89 points to 7,411.16. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 2.06 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,601.67.

Stocks have been setting record highs regularly for more than a year, and the S&P 500 is up 6.2 percent this month.

It’s on track for its biggest monthly gain since March 2016.

The dollar edged up to 109.41 yen from 109.05 yen and the euro dipped to $1.2391 from $1.2405.

Among airlines, Alaska Air lost $2.62, or 4.1 percent, to $62.07 and Southwest Airlines sank $2.02, or 3.2 percent, to $60.19.

They took even bigger losses Wednesday after United Continental said it plans to add passenger capacity at a faster pace over the next few years. That could increase the chances of a glut of flights and lower fares as airlines are dealing with higher fuel expenses and higher labor costs.

Benchmark U.S. crude lost 10 cents to $65.51 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 41 cents to $70.94 per barrel in London.