Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.78, or 4.3 percent, to close at $43.49 a barrel in NY.
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Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose 1.1 percent to 16,919.92 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.8 percent to 22,771.25.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 123 points, or 0.7 percent, to 18,618 as of 3 p.m.
On Tuesday this week S&P Dow Jones Indices showed that the consensus 1 year target for the Dow Jones Industrial Average reportedly climbed above 20000, the target was previously 18860 in February in the weeks preceding the slump of U.S. stocks to its 2016 low. The Nasdaq composite reached a new high, up 5 points, or 0.1 percent to 5,232.
The three main U.S. stock indexes reached new record highs by the end of the trading on Thursday.
The Dow touched a record intraday high on Thursday afternoon as strong results from department store chains and a surge in oil prices buoyed investor sentiment about economic growth. Meanwhile, Dillard’s rose 2.5 percent after the retailer posted a second-quarter profit that was larger than analysts expected. Brent crude, used to price global oils, gained 1.99, or 4.3%, to close at 46.04 in London.
Dow Chemical DOW.N fell 2.51 percent and was the top drag on the materials index .SPLRCM , followed by a 1.98 percent drop in DuPont DD.N a day after European Union regulators opened a full investigation of their $130 billion merger agreement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 117.86 points, or 0.7%, to close at 18,613.52. Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday, albeit in low volume trading, as a 2 percent drop in oil prices pulled its major indexes away from record levels. The pan-European STOXXX 600 index finished up 0.8 per cent at 346.66 points, its highest level since the June 23 Brexit vote in the United Kingdom.
Investors mostly focused on the latest batch of company earnings from retailers and other companies, as well as new data indicating that USA retail sales in July were more sluggish than expected.
The rally in department stores’ shares pushed up the S&P 500’s consumer discretionary index 0.87 percent.
Alibaba rose 5 percent after the Chinese e-commerce giant posted a 59 percent jump in quarterly revenue.
Nordstrom rose 6.4 percent in the run-up to the results after market closes, while J.C. Penney, which reports on Friday, was up 8 percent.
In a CNBC report following the company’s earnings release, Terry Lundgren, Macy’s Chief Executive Officer, had the following comments about the company’s quarter and the retail industry overall.
The major stock indexes in Europe mostly closed lower.
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Earlier Saudi Arabia’s energy minister suggested that petroleum suppliers should cut production to help rebalance global oil prices. The stock added 38 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $10.32. That’s a gain of 0.13 percent from its previous high last Friday. Transocean slid the most among stocks in the S&P 500, shedding 46 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $9.91.
