Consumer stocks were higher Thursday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) gaining 2.4% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) adding 0.4%.

In corporate news, Uber (UBER) said Thursday it has signed a merger agreement with Delivery Hero in a deal with an equity value of $14.8 billion, or $13.7 billion adjusted for Uber's prior stake purchases. Uber shares were up 1.2%.

United Airlines (UAL) raised the low end of its full-year earnings outlook and reported upbeat Q2 results, but the air carrier warned that rising oil prices are expected to add nearly $6 billion to its fuel costs this year. Its shares fell 2%.

Honda (HMC) plans to begin production of its UC3 electric motorcycle in Vietnam as early as September, shifting manufacturing from Thailand as it looks to capitalize on growing demand for electric two-wheelers in the country, Nikkei reported Thursday. Honda shares rose 3.1%.

XPeng (XPEV) shares climbed 3.1% in Thursday afternoon activity, a day after The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that the Chinese EV maker plans to launch its IRON humanoid robot globally next year, with monthly production capacity expected to exceed 1,000 units by the end of this year.