Stocks Rally on Oil
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008Oil settled down $US2.24 a barrel at $US119.17 - almost $US30 below its highs in July.
After the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged, investors charged into stocks that suffered most during oil’s rise. The Amex Airline Index rallied 2.12, or 9.6 per cent, to 24.20, reaching its apex of the northern hemisphere summer.
American Airlines parent AMR surged $US1.26, or 13 per cent, to $US10.95. Ford Motor added US28 cents, or 5.8 per cent, to $US5.09, and General Motors rose US59c, or 5.8 per cent, to $US10.69, although the latter was down 57 per cent for the year to date.
Owing to the spikes in oil and petrol prices this summer, malls have lost customers, airlines have turned in massive losses and the auto market is such that a recent review of EBay showed sports utility vehicles less than five years old selling for a fraction of their purchase price.