Sector Roundup: Autos, Department Stores

NEW YORK (AP) Shares of the automakers rose Wednesday, a day after the companies reported double-digit drops in March sales, blaming weak consumer spending, high gas prices and the ongoing housing slump.

NEW YORK (AP) Department store shares rose Wednesday, buoyed by news that Dillard's Inc. would avoid a proxy fight and a positive report from big-box consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co.

NEW YORK (AP) Trina Solar Ltd. led the solar-power sector higher on Wednesday after the company reported an eight-year polysilicon supply agreement.

NEW YORK (AP) Most airline stocks were down Wednesday as oil prices rose, and Mesa Air Group Inc. provided bleak news about one of its contract-flying agreements with Delta Air Lines Inc.

NEW YORK (AP) Shares of gold mining companies climbed Thursday morning as the price of the precious metal rose in world futures markets and the U.S. dollar fell.