US Airways Group Inc. rose to the highest close since federal antitrust regulators sued to block the planned merger with AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, a sign of investor optimism that the deal will occur, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. With yesterday’s 1.6 percent gain to $18.97, the shares rebounded past their price on the day before the U.S. Justice Department lawsuit was filed on Aug. 13. US Airways lost as much as 18 percent of its market value in the weeks after the government’s move. U.S. regulators stunned investors by opposing the merger, sending Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways to its biggest drop in 22 months and dragging down AMR’s shares 45 percent. Since then, the judge in AMR’s bankruptcy case approved the tie-up as part of the company’s chapter 11 exit, contingent on the outcome of the Justice Department’s suit.
