Airline Stocks Soar After Positive Report From Delta

Stock indexes closed higher on Wall Street on Thursday, enough to nudge the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite to more records.

• The S&P 500 rose 17.20 points, or 0.3%, to 6,280.46.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 192.34 points, or 0.4%, to 44,650.46.
• The Nasdaq composite rose 19.33 points, or 0.1%, to 20,630.66. It was the second all-time high in a row for the tech-focused index.

Delta Air Lines led a rally in airline stocks after issuing a solid outlook for the rest of 2025. Delta soared 12.1%, United Airlines climbed 14.3%, and JetBlue rose 7.8%, the AP reports. Cereal maker WK Kellogg jumped 30.5% after agreeing to be acquired by Nutella maker Ferrero Group.

Delta beat Wall Street's revenue and profit targets. The Atlanta-based airline also gave a more optimistic view for the remaining summer travel season than it had just a couple of months ago. Delta and other major US carriers had pulled or slashed their forecasts in the spring, citing macroeconomic uncertainty amid President Trump's tariff rollouts, which have consumers feeling uneasy about spending on travel. Most of the sectors in the S&P 500 were up, with banks and consumer-focused companies accounting for much of the gains. JPMorgan rose 1.8%, and McDonald's was also 1.8% higher. Communication services stocks were the only laggard. Netflix fell 2.9%.

It's been a choppy week for the stock market as Wall Street monitors the latest developments in Trump's renewed push to use threats of higher tariffs on goods imported into the US in hopes of securing new trade agreements with countries around the globe. Shares in mining company Freeport-McMoRan rose 3.6% after Trump said a 50% tariff on copper imports would take effect on Aug. 1. The price of copper rose 1.9% to $5.59 per pound.

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Conagra Brands fell 4.4% Thursday after the maker of Slim Jim, Swiss Miss, and other food products reported earnings and revenue that fell short of Wall Street's estimates. The company also lowered its earnings outlook, saying it expects continued cost increases due to tariffs. Helen of Troy, the company behind Hydro Flask water bottles and OXO kitchen tools, sank 22.7% after its latest quarterly results came in below Wall Street's forecasts. The company said it would not be providing a fiscal 2026 outlook, citing uncertainty over tariff policy and the economy.