The Nasdaq Composite was up 25.26 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 5,229.85.
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The S&P energy index jumped 1.68 per cent, making it the top gainer among the 10 major sectors of the benchmark, led by gains in Exxon and Chevron.
Oil rallied 4.3% to $43.49 a barrel on comments from the Saudi oil ministers that the current oversupply of crude oil will be worked off by the end of this year.
The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 97 new highs and 29 new lows.
Copper futures added 0.1 percent to $2.1730 a pound in NY, after rising 1 percent last session amid the dollar’s retreat. All three major USA indexes set record highs.
Oil futures seesawed Wednesday, with US crude trading about 2 percent lower after the Energy Information Administration’s weekly inventories data release. Elsewhere in the region, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose 1.1 percent, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4 percent. The S&P 500 gained 0.5% and was on course to top its August 5 record of 2182.87.
Property investment growth continued to slow, retail sales grew less than expected and growth in fixed-asset investment slipped to its lowest level in more than 16 years in the latest sign than an economic recovery is losing momentum at the start of the third quarter.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) futures are pointed higher, as traders digest a slew of upbeat earnings reports from retailers, including Macy’s Inc (NYSE:M) and Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS). The Treasury Department sold $23 billion worth of 10-year notes at a high yield of 1.503. Brent crude, used to price global oils, added 93 cents, or 2 percent, to close at $46.97 a barrel in London. New Zealand followed Australia in reducing rates to a fresh all-time low, and wagers on the Federal Reserve hiking borrowing costs this year remain below 50 percent as traders bet uneven expansion elsewhere will see the US central bank exercise caution. On the Nasdaq, 1,861 issues rose and 858 fell.
Precious metals traded lower on Thursday. The Nasdaq finished up slightly at 5232, up 4.5 percent on the year. Markets in Southeast Asia were mostly higher. Silver lost 32 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $19.70 an ounce. Shares rose 61 cents, or 6.1%, to $10.55. South Korea’s KOSPI slid 0.3 percent to 2,038.73 following the South Korean central bank’s decision to maintain its monetary police rate. Gold slid $6.70, or 0.5 percent, to $1,335.80 an ounce. In currency markets, the dollar strengthened to 100.99 yen from 101.93 on Thursday.
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Asian stocks traded broadly higher even as a slew of data indicated China’s recent economic stabilization faltered in July. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
