SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) -- The Amex Airline Index rose Thursday as AMR Corp. and Continental Airlines were the strongest gainers in the group, boosted by April traffic reports and oil futures trading below $70 a barrel.
Continental stock added 4.1% to finish the session at $29.25 and AMR Corp. rose 3.1% to $28.04.
US Airways Group gained 0.5% to $48.05 after trading as high as $49.20 at one point. The company, which operates US Airways flights and America West flights, late Wednesday reported 6.8% lower traffic in April and a 12% cutback in capacity but load factor, a measurement of how full planes are flying, increased to 82%, up 4.9 percentage points from last year.
Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl, in a research note, called the company's passenger revenue per available seat mile increase of 25% 'stellar' and wrote that he expects the stock's climb is supported by those revenue gains.
The Amex Airline Index rose 1.7% to 51.41 points. Meanwhile, crude oil futures fell $2.34 to $69.94 a barrel, the first time oil has dipped below $70 in three weeks.
SkyWest rose 1.5% to close at $24.
Other gainers included Alaska Air Group , which hit a five-year high of $39.90 before easing back to close at $39.72. AirTran Holdings gained nearly 2.1% to end the day at $14.29.
Outside the airline index, UAL Corp. rose 2.7% to $38.63 after reporting that United Airlines' traffic and capacity rose during the month of April yet load factor was still a record for the month at 82.8%, a 2.7 percentage point increase. Traffic increased by 8.4% over last year and capacity rose 4.9%.
Among U.S.-listed foreign airlines, Ryanair Holdings rose 1.9% to $49.60. Gol Linhas Aereas gained 5.7% to $38.90 after hitting a fresh 52-week intraday high of $39.24. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.