Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%) has seen several brief returns to its flatline as the information technology (flat) and consumer discretionary (+0.2%) sectors oscillate around their own unchanged levels. The S&P 500 (-0.4%) and DJIA (-0.5%) remain firmly lower. 

Airline stocks such as American Airlines (AAL 15.93, +0.60, +3.92%) and United Airlines (UAL 111.11, +3.41, +3.17%) are trading higher today as oil prices slide sharply lower amid oversupply concerns, providing an earnings tailwind for the group. 

Airline stocks have been very strong lately—as reflected by the U.S. Global Jets ETF (+1.25%) trading at multi-year highs, up over 20% since late November. In addition to falling fuel prices, a more constrained supply dynamic, partly due to aircraft delivery delays, and partly due to purposeful reductions in supply, have helped lower operating costs and expand margins