Sector Snap: Airlines Mostly Up After 1Q Results

NEW YORK (AP) — Airline stocks advanced Thursday after first-quarter earnings reports from US Airways Group Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. exceeded Wall Street's expectations.

US Airways said its first-quarter loss shrank as some of its old fuel hedging contracts turned positive, and JetBlue posted a profit in the period as it let go of some its own fuel contracts. Both reported results above Wall Street's expectations.

Standard & Poor's Airlines Analyst Jim Corridore kept his "Hold" rating on US Airways, but cut his price target to $6 from $9. He also lowered his profit estimate for the full-year dramatically to 67 cents from $2.30. ...