Consumer stocks were mixed Wednesday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) increasing 0.4% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) shedding 0.6%.
In corporate news, Alaska Air (ALK) shares fell 4.5% 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 rose 3%.
AT&T's (T) Q2 earnings beat Wall Street's estimates on stronger-than-expected growth in wireless subscribers. The stock rose 2.7%.