Alaska Air - Top Performing Airline - Mid-Day Update

Published on Thursday, 02 September 2010 13:10 Written by Gerard Lerod

New York, September 2nd (TradersHuddle.com) - The NYSE Airline index is trading higher at $40.3, which represents 0.99% versus its previous close. The airline index is having a pretty much broad rally with 11 out of 13 airlines trading higher.

Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) is the top performer of the sector so far, trading at $46.35 representing 2.52%. versus the previous trading session. Shares of Alaska Air , the Airline serving destinations within the state of Alaska and the West Coast of the United States have defined support at $43.89 and resistance at $54.19.

US Airways (NYSE:LCC) is also among the top performers, currently trading at $9.75 representing 1.99% from its previous close. US Airways, the Phoenix based airline has calculated support and resistance levels at $8.40 and $9.53 respectively. The other top performer is UAL (NASDAQ:UAUA), which is trading at $22.32 representing 1.78% from the previous trading session.

The sector's worst performers include SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW) that is trading at $13.18 or -1.75% from the previous close. Shares of SkyWest, the regional airline servicing major airlines like Delta and United have defined support at $11.97 and resistance at $13.62. Also among the worst performers is Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY), which is currently trading at $29.17 representing -0.31% from the previous trading session.

Benchmark crude for October delivery is trading lower trading at $73.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange lower by $-0.97 from the previous trading session. Crude prices are closely watched by traders as they usually correlate with the airline stocks, given that a big component of the airlines' cost structure is covered by the price of fuel.