United Continental's Stock Rallies Premarket, Set To Erase All Losses In Wake Of Passenger Being Dragged Off Plane

Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc. climbed 1.1% in premarket trade Wednesday, putting them on course to post a gain despite the public-relations backlash after a passenger was dragged off the plane over the weekend. The stock was changing hands at $71.50 ahead of the open, and was on track to open with a 0.9% gain on the week. The stock was suffering a week-to-date decline of as much as 3.6% at Tuesday's intraday low of $68.36, but then pared losses sharply after Chief Executive Oscar Munoz issued a more conciliatory apology in the afternoon. United's stock rally comes as shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. jumped 3% in premarket trade after reporting first-quarter results, and of JetBlue Airways Corp. tacked on 0.1% after reporting March traffic data. United's stock has lost 4.5% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has slipped 0.9% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.7%.