01:48 PM EDT, 03/25/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Consumer stocks were higher Wednesday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) increasing 0.5% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) rising 1.3%.

In corporate news, JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) shares surged past 14%. The airline has reached out to advisers to evaluate the feasibility of selling itself to a rival airline and have explored how a deal with United Airlines (UAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV) or Alaska Airlines (ALK) would fare in Washington, Semafor reported.

Chewy (CHWY) shares jumped 13% after it issued an upbeat full-year sales outlook on Wednesday, even though the online pet store company reported fiscal Q4 results just below market estimates.

KB Home ( KBH ) shares fell 2.6% after the homebuilder lowered its full-year housing revenue outlook amid affordability concerns and recent geopolitical tensions, while it reported weaker-than-expected fiscal Q1 results.