US close: Stocks end in the black as oil rallies
US stocks ended higher as oil prices rallied, but gains were fairly muted overall as investors awaited the outcome of Thursday’s European Central Bank announcement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.2%, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq added 0.6%.
Investors on both sides of the pond were looking ahead to the ECB meeting on Thursday, with market participants pricing in a 10 basis points cut to the deposit rate, an extension of asset purchases and maybe even the introduction of tiered interest rates.
However, there was a certain degree of caution in the air, with some analysts pointing out that the bank could disappoint again like it did in December.
Oil prices advanced after data from the US Energy Information Administration showed a large weekly increase in crude supplies. The EIA reported a 3.9m barrel rise in crude oil supplies for the week ended 4 March. This was below the 4.4m barrel rise reported by the American Petroleum Institute and a touch higher than the 3m barrels expected.
West Texas Intermediate was up 4.6% to $38.17 per barrel while Brent was 3% firmer at $40.85.
Data released earlier by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed total mortgage application volume in the US rose 0.2% last week in seasonally-adjusted terms. This compared to a 4.8% drop the previous week.
On the year, mortgage application volumes were up 20%.
Figures from the Commerce Department showed US wholesale inventories unexpectedly rose in January as sales slid. Wholesale stocks were up 0.3% compared with expectations for a 0.2% decline.
On the corporate front, natural pet food company Blue Buffalo Pet Products surged as its fourth quarter results released late on Tuesday beat analysts’ expectations.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals was also on the front foot as it announced the addition of three new board members.
Retailer Express Inc was in the black after posting a 34% jump in fourth-quarter profit.
On the downside, Pfizer Inc edged higher as the pharmaceutical company said it had entered into a $5bn accelerated repurchase programme with Goldman Sachs to be settled during the second quarter of 2016.
Chipotle slumped after one of its restaurants in Massachusetts was shut down as four employees fell ill, possibly from norovirus.
In currencies, the dollar was down 0.1% against the pound, flat versus the euro and 0.7% firmer against the yen.
S&P 500 - Risers
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $5.87 +29.30%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.63 +7.56%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $22.93 +6.80%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $30.64 +5.76%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $11.04 +5.54%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $9.14 +5.54%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $37.06 +5.37%
Tesoro Corp. (TSO) $88.50 +5.36%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $92.81 +4.59%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $32.06 +4.26%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $5.17 -8.50%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $374.72 -5.09%
Rowan Companies plc (RDC) $15.77 -4.13%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $10.47 -3.50%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $506.63 -3.44%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $7.12 -2.86%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $84.62 -2.63%
W.W. Grainger Inc. (GWW) $218.94 -2.60%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $140.90 -2.58%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $60.98 -2.54%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $92.81 +4.59%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $52.84 +2.30%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $27.61 +2.07%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.73 +1.26%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $44.81 +1.11%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $119.64 +1.03%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $30.86 +1.00%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $140.41 +0.96%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $59.11 +0.56%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $106.80 +0.55%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $58.33 -2.47%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $149.91 -1.11%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $67.53 -0.75%
American Express Co. (AXP) $59.04 -0.66%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $126.03 -0.54%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $121.10 -0.46%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.33 -0.36%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $96.60 -0.31%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.34 -0.23%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $97.64 -0.18%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $4.00 +5.82%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $46.55 +4.02%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $17.59 +3.78%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $208.72 +3.02%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $52.84 +2.30%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $3.96 +2.19%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $41.65 +2.16%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $176.53 +2.15%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $47.42 +2.11%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $19.17 +2.08%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $374.72 -5.09%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $68.85 -3.26%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $84.62 -2.63%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $140.90 -2.58%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $60.98 -2.54%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $159.00 -2.43%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $255.66 -2.15%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $41.79 -2.04%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $38.20 -1.93%
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $91.76 -1.89%