Consumer stocks were mixed late Wednesday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) up 0.3% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) fractionally lower.
In corporate news, iHeartMedia (IHRT) shares jumped past 13% after Bloomberg reported the company is exploring a sale of part or potentially all of its podcast unit to raise cash and boost its floundering stock price.
United Airlines (UAL) is taking steps to restrict access by unauthorized third-party personal AI agents and assistants to its services directly through its digital platforms and indirectly through travel agencies and aggregators. United shares were down 1.9%.
Delta Air Lines (DAL) and its partner Virgin Atlantic Airways plan to challenge London Heathrow's decision to move Delta to another terminal, Bloomberg reported, citing Virgin Atlantic CEO Corneel Koster as saying at a conference in London. The airport refuses to negotiate commercially and hides behind regulation, and the carriers will fight the plan and will not accept it, the report quoted Koster as saying. Delta shares were declining 1%.
Lululemon Athletica (LULU) is again a holding of investor Michael Burry, who described the retailer as a "good bet," Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing his Substack post. Burry, who exited a position in the stock in October, wrote that he has confidence in the company's research and product development, the report said. Lululemon shares were down 2.3%.
