US close: Markets ahead as oil pares losses

Stocks in the US started the week on a high, closing in the black on Monday, with healthcare and consumer discretionary spending among the top risers. The performance was underpinned by oil, which pared back most of its Asia and Europe losses during New York trading.

All three major indexes reversed opening losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.6% at 18,004.16, the S&P 500 closed up 0.65% at 2,094.34, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.44% higher at 4,960.02.

“I think the market’s up because of crude,” said TD Ameritrade chief strategist JJ Kinahan.

The Dow briefly breached the psychologically important 18,000 level to close above that level - reaching it for the first time in intraday trade since July 21 last year. Walt Disney, Chevron and Home Depot were the index’s biggest contributors.

“It’s pretty amazing we’re back to the levels we’re at. The encouraging thing to me is we’re getting strength from somewhere different every day,” Knahan added.

Oil futures pared back much of their losses, with West Texas Intermediate last sitting down 1.13% at $39.91 and Brent crude flat at $43.10 per barrel.

There was some short-term support for oil as oil workers in Kuwait went on strike, leading to a significant production cut from the major oil supplying nation.

Disney was ahead after Pivotal Research upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’, adding that many investor concerns were already priced in the stock. The production company’s The Jungle Book won the weekend box office in North America by a wide margin - at $103.6m taking the title as the second best ever April opening.

Hasbro was 5% ahead after beating market estimates by 14 cents, for a quarterly profit of 38 cents per share. Revenue also topped forecasts by a large margin, with a toy range for Star Wars: The Force Awakens behind much of the rise.

Morgan Stanley was another major firm that posted better-than-expected earnings per share, with revenue broadly in line with expectations. Netflix and IBM were due to report after the closing bell.

During the morning, New York Federal Reserve president William Dudley said the normalisation of monetary policy was looking to remain “gradual and cautious” with “significant uncertainties” and “headwinds to growth”, echoing recent remarks from Janet Yellen.

The NAHB housing index was reported ahead of schedule. The index remained unchanged in April, at 58.

In currencies, the greenback was last 0.54% weaker against sterling at $1.4278, it was off 0.27% against the common currency at $1.1314, and it was 0.06% stronger on the yen at JPY 108.83.

S&P 500 - Risers
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $28.49 +8.20%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $87.18 +5.79%
Hess Corp. (HES) $59.84 +4.67%
Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) $45.70 +4.34%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $65.44 +3.87%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $28.77 +3.86%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $422.38 +3.85%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $34.75 +3.52%
Ball Corp (BLL) $74.63 +3.25%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $45.00 +2.97%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $16.68 -4.96%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $108.40 -2.79%
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST) $15.86 -2.16%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $107.48 -2.16%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $79.38 -2.06%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $46.55 -2.00%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $460.12 -1.95%
News Corp Class A (NWSA) $12.46 -1.89%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $30.49 -1.55%
News Corp Class B (NWS) $12.92 -1.37%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.48 +2.93%
Visa Inc. (V) $81.45 +1.71%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $98.70 +1.51%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $56.46 +1.46%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $136.80 +1.33%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $69.86 +1.16%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $28.19 +1.04%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $85.78 +0.95%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $128.85 +0.84%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.73 +0.74%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $107.48 -2.16%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $64.70 -0.87%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $116.01 -0.19%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $28.49 +8.20%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $46.50 +4.19%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $65.44 +3.87%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $422.38 +3.85%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $178.13 +2.59%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $35.44 +2.52%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $10.89 +1.87%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $58.08 +1.86%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $83.22 +1.80%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $155.71 +1.71%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Liberty Media Corporation - Series C (LMCK) $18.15 -52.56%
Liberty Media Corporation - Class A (LMCA) $19.03 -51.28%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $108.40 -2.79%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $107.48 -2.16%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $29.34 -1.81%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $52.14 -1.77%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $30.49 -1.55%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $24.78 -1.35%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.85 -1.28%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $201.58 -0.73%