Shares of retailers and other consumer companies rose as strong housing data offset concerns about the ability of hard-hit travel and retail companies to bounce back from the Covid epidemic.
Used-home sales rose 21% in June over the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released Wednesday, the biggest monthly increase on record going back to 1968.
Shares of one of the largest U.S. carriers, United Airlines, declined after it reported a second-quarter loss and said it will continue reducing flights.
Hopes for a rapid return to normal are fading for companies like United, according to one strategist.
"Every major airline announced tens of thousands of layoffs, [while ]hotels are still operating less than half capacity," said Oliver Pursche, an independent market strategist.
"There doesn't seem to be a short-term turnaround to that."
Brooks Brothers Group has found a buyer for its Massachusetts manufacturing plant, which most recently had been making masks to protect health-care workers battling the spread of Covid-19.
The factory shut down shortly before the company filed for bankruptcy this month. A German public prosecutor's office said investigators from Germany, Italy and Switzerland have searched ten commercial properties belonging to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Iveco, Jeep and Alfa Romeo in connection with the ongoing diesel scandal.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
