Why Carnival and Other Cruise Line Stocks Sailed Higher Today
The stock market's Monday rally is continuing into Tuesday, and cruise stocks are riding the tide higher, with shares of Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) gaining 5.4% this morning (as of 9:50 a.m. ET), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH) rising 6.7%, and Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK) leading the pack with a 10% gain.
Several factors may be operating as tailwinds to the cruise sector this morning, beginning with a bullish note from Bank of America yesterday. (In its earnings report, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said consumer spending via his bank's cards and accounts rose 10% year over year in September and early October -- a bullish sign for the consumer-facing cruise sector.)
More broadly, investors may be betting that inflation -- which ran hot last month, foreshadowing a likely interest rate hike in November -- is about to peak and that the Fed will soon stop raising interest rates. (This will be good news, if true, for heavily indebted cruise stocks, whose debt costs rise when interest rates go up.)
Source Fool.com
