Airline stocks are enjoying a broad rally in premarket trading Thursday, as a sharp drop in crude oil prices helps soothe concerns over the effect of rising fuel prices.
The U.S. Global Jets ETF JETS, +0.32% climbed 0.9% ahead of the open, after closing Wednesday 28.3% above the more-than 16-month low of $16.91 on March 7. Many on Wall Street believe rallies of 20% or more off a bear-market low defines a bull market. The ETF’s most-active component was American Airlines Group Inc.’s AAL, +1.11% stock, which rose 1.2% premarket after closing Wednesday 40.6% above the March 7 16-month closing low of $12.84. Elsewhere in Thursday’s premarket, shares of United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL, +1.09% advanced 1.1%, Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL, +0.61% rallied 0.8%, Spirit Airlines Inc. SAVE, -0.68% gained 0.9% and Southwest Airlines Inc. LUV, +0.50% tacked on 0.5%. Shares of Boeing Co. BA, -1.75%, the aerospace giant, whose fortunes are tied to the health of the airline industry, was up 0.3%. Meanwhile, crude oil futures CL00, -0.21% dropped 5.6% amid reports that the U.S. plans to release a large amount of crude reserves to combat rising prices. The Jets ETF has gained 2.8% year to date through Wednesday, while crude oil futures have soared 35.8% and the S&P 500 SPX, -1.57% has slipped 3.4%.