Airline Stocks Decline As Oil Hits $80 (AMR, CAL, JBLU)

Crude oil futures were up 0.7% to $79.82 a barrel, after touching $80 earlier in the session. Higher oil prices put the pressure on airline stocks as the industry's benchmark index was poised to close out the year with solid gains.

The index is up nearly 50% for the year. The NYSE Arca Airline Index (XAL) was flat at 33.85 points with nine of its 13 constituent stocks trading down marginally. Shares of American parent AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR) was down marginally to $7.72, Continental (NYSE: CAL) fell less than 1% to $17.84 and JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) dropped 1% to $5.45.