Consumer stocks were mixed late Wednesday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) increasing 0.3% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) shedding 0.8%.
In corporate news, Paramount Skydance (PSKY) won conditional approval from the European Commission for its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Paramount shares rose 2.5%, and Warner gained 0.3%.
Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) were granted a preliminary injunction by US District Judge Gregory Woods, blocking a recently enacted New York City law protecting ride-share drivers from "wrongful deactivations." Uber shares fell 2%, and Lyft slumped 4.2%.
Alaska Air (ALK) shares fell 3% after the airline issued a Q3 earnings outlook below market estimates and swung to a Q2 loss as higher fuel costs weighed on results.
Philip Morris International (PM) reported better-than-expected Q2 results and reiterated its full-year outlook. The shares climbed 3.3%.