SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Airline stocks edged lower Thursday under the combined pressure of a weaker stock market and rising crude-oil prices. The NYSE Arca Airline Index (xx:xal) fell as much as 1.4% to 32.58 points at the open, reversing the previous session's gains. Southwest Airlines (luv) was the biggest percentage decliner among the major U.S. carriers, down 2.2% at $8.17 a share, followed closely by United Continental Holding's (ual) 1.9% drop to $18.19. While a modest drop in the broader equities market raises concerns about air travel demand, the industry's bigger operational concern is fuel. Crude-oil prices have risen sharply over the past two days, with the October crude futures contract now trading at a five-week high above $89 a barrel in New York.
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