South Korea’s Kospi slid 0.3 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.4 percent. Stocks in Singapore and Indonesia were higher but markets in Taiwan and the Philippines were lower.
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The U.S. dollar index traded half a percent lower, with the euro near $1.137 and the yen at 109.10 yen against the greenback.
“Oil prices are going to continue to be very important to the market”, said Mary Ann Hurley, vice president in fixed income trading at DA Davidson in Seattle.
Energy companies notched the biggest gain among the sectors in the S&P 500, rising 1.6%.
Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing jumped 5 percent and energy explorer Inpex Corp advanced 5.7 percent. The toy maker turned in a solid quarter thanks to strong sales of “Star Wars”, Disney Princess and “Frozen” merchandise.
The S&P 500 gained 0.3 per cent to 2100.80 at 4pm in NY, closing above the 2100 mark for the first time since December 1.
The Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) added 21.8 points to close at 4960.02.
The major USA indices have soared since the February 11 low and are now just trading below resistance, in other words, all-time highs.
Stocks in the health care and consumer discretionary sectors also posted big gains.
TIME TO PLAY: Hasbro jumped 3.9% after reporting better results than analysts were expecting.
In the foreign exchange market, the US dollar weakened against most currencies after the impact of oil producers’ failure to agree on a plan to curb global supply faded, boosting risk appetite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also was little-changed at 18,057. The Nasdaq edged down 19 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,940.
Asian stocks hit a 5-1/2-month high on Thursday as oil prices rallied and the yen resumed its decline on expectations of further easing from the Bank of Japan next week. Diamond Offshore Drilling rose $1.41, or 6.3 percent, to $23.76.
The price of crude oil shook off an early slide and closed up 4 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is flying high once again.
Hang Seng Index was down 0.93%.
First-quarter earnings at S&P 500 companies are expected to have fallen 7.6 percent on average and revenues are seen dipping 1.3 percent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. During the weekend, representatives of several of the OPEC and non-members including Russian Federation met in Doha, Qatar.
The price of oil has recovered ground it lost since plunging early Monday, a sign possibly of greater investor confidence in the global economy.
Crude fell about 2 percent after Kuwaiti oil workers called off a strike that drove up prices and helped the S&P 500 breach 2,100 on Tuesday, about 30 points shy of its record high.
Big gainers on Tuesday include Germany’s DAX, which is up 2.4 percent at 10,363, and Japan’s Nikkei, which soared 3.7 percent to close at 16,874.44. On the Nasdaq, 1,329 issues rose and 940 fell.
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UnitedHealth Group added 2.1 percent after it reported strong results for the first quarter and raised its guidance for the year. The meeting faltered after Saudi Arabia reiterated its demand that Iran take part in any deal to freeze production.
