On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index finished for the first time above 27,000 points and the S & P 500 also broke a record on Thursday, again supported by the prospect of an accommodating US Central Bank. At the close, the index’s flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gained 0.85% to finish at 27,088.08 points, and the S & P 500 gained 0.23% to 2,999.91 points. The Nasdaq index, with strong technological color, fell by 0.08% to close at 8,196.04 points.
Weight Watcher climbed 8% after JP Morgan’s upgrade to “neutral” versus prior rating of “underweight.”
Delta Air Lines moved higher after posting a second-quarter profit up 39.3% thanks to higher ticket prices and more complete flights. The second-largest US airline also raised its annual earnings per share target to $6.75 to $7.25 from a previous forecast of $6-7. Net income stood at $1.44 billion, or $2.21 per share, over the three months ended June, compared with $1.04 billion ($1.49 per share) a year ago. On an adjusted basis, it stands at $2.35 per share. Analysts were looking for $2 per share.
American Airlines Group was up after raising its unit revenue per passenger forecast for the second quarter due to a better filling of its aircraft due to a reduction in its fleet, its Boeing 737 MAX being grounded. The US group, however, expects its taxable income in the second quarter to be reduced by about $185 million (161.9 million euros) due to the cancellation of 7,000 flights over the period.
American Airlines lowered its unit revenue forecast for the first quarter last April and said it expects an extraordinary charge of $350 million for 2019 related to the flight ban of the 737 MAX … company now expects unit revenue, a measure of revenue relative to capacity, to increase by 3% to 4% for the quarter ended June, compared to a previous forecast of a 1% increase to 3% %.
The group also increased its pre-tax margin forecast for the quarter, excluding certain items, to a range of 8.5% to 9.5% from 7% to 9% previously. American Airlines is the second operator of MAX in the United States with 24 aircraft, behind Southwest Airlines which holds 34.
