Sector Snap: Airline stocks rise

Airlines shares rose Friday on twin good news: Oil prices fell and the broader stock market rose.

The Dow Jones industrial average and other broad indexes advanced about 1 percent in early afternoon trading. Reports from Disney and retailers Abercrombie & Fitch and Penney helped ease worries about a weak holiday sales season.

Oil prices fell to their lowest levels in a month as investors focused on slumping U.S. energy demand. Benchmark crude for December delivery dropped 44 cents at $76.50 a barrel after bottoming at $75.57 earlier in the day, the lowest since Oct. 15.

That's good for airlines, which spend a big chunk of their budget on jet fuel.

The Amex Airlines Index rose 2.9 percent.

In afternoon trading, shares of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. rose 17 cents, or 3 percent, to $5.90; United parent UAL Corp. added 17 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $7.29; and Southwest Airlines Co. gained 26 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $9.31.

US Airways Group Inc. shares rose 8 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $3.23; Continental Airlines Inc. gained 20 cents to $13.40; and Delta Air Lines Inc. added 2 cents to $7.82.