Since earnings season began in October, the airline stocks have struggled to move higher. Leading airline stocks like Delta Air (NYSE:DAL), American (NASDAQ:AAL), Southwest (NYSE:LUV) and United Continental (NYSE:UAL) have all been under pressure. Higher fuel prices are certainly starting to weigh on these leading transportation stocks and that has not helped the shares.
AAL Support
American Airlines is forming a bearish consolidation pattern on the daily chart, which signals potential downside in the near term. Traders should note that the longer the bearish sideways pattern remains in place, the lower AAL's stock can go. On Tuesday, American Airlines was trading lower by $0.62 to $50.04 a share. The airline giant should have major chart support around the $43.50, which is where it was defended in May and September of this year. So until that level fails, it looks to be major chart support for AAL.