(Bloomberg) — Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp. and online travel booking platform Expedia Group Inc. posted the biggest S&P 500 gains on Monday as concerns over an imminent invasion of the Ukraine eased and Covid-19 continued its retreat.
Airlines, however, were not able to hold onto early gains, weighed down by rising oil.
Most theme park and casino stocks held onto Monday’s gain even as the S&P 500 Index slipped 0.4%, failing to hold onto brief advances.
Many travel stocks are looking to shake off a two-year slide as the March anniversary of the U.S. lockdown approaches.
The stocks began climbing after Russia’s foreign minister told President Vladimir Putin Russia should continue talks with the U.S.
and its allies before. The promise of Covid-19 antiviral pills and the improving outlook for survival may also be putting potential travelers at ease.
Airlines and cruise ship operators fared less well, ending Monday lower after crude oil hit $95 a barrel.
Still, younger adults are most interested in travel right now with Latin American residents the most keen to take to the skies, a survey from Citigroup Inc. showed. For airlines, “rebounding demand could help carriers offset costs, such as oil price pressure,” wrote Stephen Trent, an analyst with the bank.
United Airlines Holdings Inc., JetBlue Airways Corp.
and Delta Air Lines Inc. and American Airlines Group Inc. all slumped, though only American lost more than 1%.
Airlines, travel and leisure stocks have had a good 2022 so far in 2022.
But investors should not assume things will be calm from here. Expedia rose 2.6% on Monday paring back from a 5.8% jump.
“Covid is not gone — and it is not entirely clear if elements of the market might panic about the next Greek letter-named variant several months from now,” Trent cautioned.
(Updates with closing prices, crude oil developments.)
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