Sector Snap: Airlines

In midday trading, airline stocks fell as oil prices rose 24 cents to $114.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Amex Airline Index fell 1.3 percent, with 12 of 14 component stocks in negative territory.

Shares of AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, the nation's largest carrier, fell 30 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $10.22. Late Friday, AMR disclosed in a regulatory filing that it hired Merrill Lynch to sell up to $300 million in stock "from time to time" on the open market.

US Airways Group Inc. shares lost a penny at $7.85; shares of United Airlines parent UAL Corp. fell 37 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $12.35; and Delta Air Lines Inc. gave up 14 cents at $8.49.

Continental Airlines Inc. shares dropped 22 cents, to $15.64; and Northwest Airlines Corp. shares fell 17 cents, to $10.20.

Southwest Airlines Co. shares lost 43 cents, or 2.8 percent, at $14.82.