Benchmark crude for October delivery fell 9 cents to settle at $67.96 a barrel on the Nymex. In London, Brent crude dropped 54 cents to settle at $67.12 on the ICE Futures exchange.

In late afternoon trading, the Dow rose 13.60, or 0.2 percent, to 9,294.27. The S&P 500 index rose 2.86, or 0.3 percent, to 997.61, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.17, or 0.3 percent, to 1,973.24.

The Amex Airline Index rose 3.2 percent.

In afternoon trading, shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 28 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $7.12, while shares of American Airlines parent AMR Corp. rose 34 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $5.45, and shares of United Airlines parent UAL Corp. rose 49 cents, or 8.6 percent, to $6.16.

Continental Airlines Inc. shares rose 51 cents, or 4 percent, to $13.35, while shares of US Airways Group Inc. rose 13 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $3.26.

Southwest Airlines Co. shares rose 27 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $8.40, while shares of JetBlue Airways Corp. rose 11 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $5.86, and shares of AirTran Airways parent AirTran Holdings Inc. rose 18 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $6.42.

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