US close: Stocks end higher as energy sector gains after Paris terror attacks
US equities ended higher, with energy stocks pacing the advance as oil prices rallied on geopolitical concerns following the terrorist attacks in Paris last Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.4%, the S&P 500 rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq ended 1.2% higher.
“Investors have shrugged off any worries that the attack and its repercussions will crimp the behaviour and lifestyles of those in the West and beyond,” said David Morrison, market analyst at SpreadCo.
Energy shares racked up healthy gains, with Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp both firmly in the black as oil prices advanced amid worries that air strikes in Syria could disrupt supply. West Texas Intermediate was up 3.3% to $42.10 a barrel while Brent gained 1% to $44.91 a barrel.
French warplanes launched an assault on Islamic State targets in Syria on Sunday after a series of coordinated terrorist attacks on the country’s capital on Friday night.
The French Defence Ministry said 10 aircraft dropped 20 bombs on facilities used by IS, hitting a command centre, a militant-training facility and an arms depot.
Islamist militant group ‘Islamic State’ claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were payback for France’s air strikes on IS targets in Syria.
Spot gold was down 0.1% to $1,083.23, giving back gains from earlier in the day on a flight to safety, while the dollar was on the front foot against its major rivals. The greenback gained 0.8% against the euro, 0.2% versus the pound and 0.6% against the yen.
Travel and leisure stocks were under pressure following the attacks in Paris, with cruise operator Carnival and Delta Airlines both lower.
Hotel operator Marriott International declined after agreeing to buy rival Starwood Hotels & Resorts for $12.2bn in a deal that will create the world’s largest hotel company.
Liberty Global fell after the company said it has agreed to buy London-listed Cable & Wireless for $5.3bn.
Perrigo rose as it sought to recoup some of the losses incurred on Friday, after it emerged that Mylan’s attempted takeover of the pharmaceutical group had failed.
On the macroeconomic front, according to the New York Federal Reserve, the Empire State manufacturing index edged higher from -11.4 in October to -10.7 this month, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 6.3 reading.
The figure marked the first time since early 2009 that the index has been below negative 10 for four consecutive months.
"No-one should be surprised by soft manufacturing data given the plunge in oil companies' capex, the strong dollar and slowing growth in Asia,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
"The good news, though, is that the Empire State index is not a leading indicator of the national ISM index.”
S&P 500 - Risers
FLIR Systems Inc. (FLIR) $28.72 +10.33%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $34.61 +9.11%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $22.56 +8.78%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $7.96 +7.57%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $111.35 +7.43%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $37.31 +6.30%
Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) $68.75 +6.10%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $11.67 +5.88%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $37.02 +5.17%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $54.40 +4.96%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $22.67 -7.43%
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) $72.26 -3.64%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $67.99 -2.72%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,266.87 -2.38%
Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $47.93 -2.16%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $122.53 -2.13%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $56.90 -1.88%
Fossil Group Inc (FOSL) $31.85 -1.67%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $50.76 -1.55%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $42.83 -1.43%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.89 +3.57%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $91.47 +3.15%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $57.87 +2.57%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $26.79 +2.21%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $113.81 +2.15%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.06 +1.87%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $75.29 +1.80%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $53.76 +1.75%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $114.18 +1.63%
3M Co. (MMM) $158.18 +1.63%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.12 -0.45%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $32.10 -0.03%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $28.81 +7.70%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $111.35 +7.43%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $51.97 +3.96%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $34.29 +3.70%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $214.31 +3.44%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $81.84 +3.37%
Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $121.47 +3.34%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $17.74 +2.90%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $170.11 +2.69%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $266.47 +2.56%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $44.10 -2.76%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $67.99 -2.72%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $104.54 -2.70%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,266.87 -2.38%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $42.64 -2.16%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.30 -2.08%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $42.83 -1.43%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $14.89 -0.73%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $283.53 -0.46%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $185.69 -0.42%