The S&P 500 was 0.7% higher in afternoon trading. It's been generally edging lower since a five-week rally carried it to its highest level in more than a year in mid-June.
Delta's stock rose 4.9% after it said earnings this year should come in at the top end of the range it had earlier forecast. American Airlines climbed 5.7%, and United Airlines rose 5.4%. The U.S. stock market has been on a tear this year despite much higher interest rates meant to get inflation under control, in part because the economy has so far managed to avoid a recession. But many investors are just delaying their predictions for the start of a recession rather than cancelling them.
A measure of manufacturing activity in the Richmond, Virginia, region stretching from Maryland to South Carolina contracted, but not by as much as economists feared. That's also the expectation for the Federal Reserve. But the hope on Wall Street is that a hike next month could be the final one for the Fed, even if it has suggested recently that it could raise rates twice more this year.
In Asian markets, stocks in Shanghai rose 1.2% China's No. 2 leader, Premier Li Qiang, said economic growth has accelerated and can hit this year's official 5% target. Li, speaking at a conference, gave no growth rate for the latest quarter but said it is faster than the previous quarter's 4.5%.
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