Wall Street has closed mainly higher despite giving up early gains.
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One reason for the fall in oil prices Wednesday was the resolution to an oil workers strike in Kuwait, which means more crude is back on the market. Health care and consumer discretionary companies were among the biggest gainers.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 49 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,053.
The S&P 500 Index gained 0.7 percent to close at 2,094, while the Nasdaq rose 0.4 percent to 4,960.
Meanwhile, sliding technology shares weighed on the Nasdaq Composite Index (NYSEARCA:QQQ) after IBM reported its worst quarterly revenues in 14 years.
The Dow is up 579.13 points, or 3.3 percent. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained five points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,099. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
CEO, Ian Audsley, said the result is, “disappointing, particularly in an Olympic year”, however the company expects to “maintain its lead market revenue share in the three aggregated markets on the back of a number of Olympic-related marketing initiatives”.
In corporate news, shares of Pepsico, Inc. edged down 0.05 percent to 103.72 USA dollars apiece Monday, after the snack and beverage giant delivered quarterly earnings above estimates and revenues in line with expectations. Strong earnings from blue chips only added to the risk-on backdrop – although Dow stock International Business Machines Corp.
NICE DRIVE: General Motors rose 1.6 percent after the automaker said its profit more than doubled, thanks partly to strong demand in North America.
Russian Federation is running a 3 percent budget deficit and its economy is expected to contract by over 1.5 percent this year.
Oil: Crude oil fell over 1 percent, with prices hitting about $41 a barrel, after the world’s major oil producers failed to come to an agreement to freeze crude oil output this weekend. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.78 per cent from 1.75 late Friday.
CURRENCIES: The yen resumed its slide with the dollar strengthening to 109.33 yen from 108.96 yen. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9 percent to 5,253.50.
Substantial weakness has also emerged among utilities stocks, as reflected by the 2% drop by the Dow Jones Utilities Average.
“Recovery in crude oil prices, along with hopes of a healthy first quarter results in USA has supported the rise in the Asian markets today”, Anand James, chief market strategist, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services, told IANS. The Stoxx 600 index of European shares is up 1.2 percent at 348.4. Endo vaulted $1.85, or 7 percent, to $28.18, while Regeneron Pharmaceuticals climbed $12.86, or 3.2 percent, to $419.59. The EIA also reduced its production forecast from last month’s outlook by 100,000 bpd to 8.6 million bpd and 8.0 million bpd in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Brent crude, the worldwide benchmark, slipped 60 cents to $43.43 a barrel in London.
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BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Bond prices fell.
