US close: Stocks end in the black as oil recovers
US stocks ended a choppy session in the black on Thursday as oil prices recovered.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.3%, the Nasdaq rose 0.9% and the S&P 500 ended 1.2% firmer.
The positive finish was underpinned by a rebound in oil prices, which started off weak but settled higher after Venezuela’s oil minister said in a television interview that his country would meet with Russia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar next month in an effort to stabilise prices.
West Texas Intermediate rose 2.4% to $32.93 a barrel while Brent crude added 2% to $35.08.
Meanwhile, investors digested some mixed economic data points.
US durable goods orders jumped 4.9% in January, beating analysts’ estimates for a 2.9% increase, the Commerce Department revealed.
“The 4.9% month-on-month increase in durable goods orders in January was flattered by a strong rebound in the notoriously volatile aircraft component, but details of the report bode well for equipment investment in the first quarter and should quell fears that the US economy is heading for a recession,” said Capital Economics.
“Indeed, the risks to our estimate that first-quarter GDP will be around 2.5% annualised now appear to lie on the upside.”
It was a less cheery picture on the jobs front, however, with initial jobless claims rising more than expected last week, according to Labor Department.
Claims increased to 272,000 in the week to 20 February from 262,000, more than the 280,000 that was pencilled in by analysts.
Elsewhere, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly house price index jumped 0.4% month-on-month, missing forecasts of 0.5%.
Market participants also mulled over comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart, who warned that rising US interest rates could undermine bank profits amid global market turmoil, slowing emerging economies and indications that inflation may be improving.
“Rising rates will create challenges in managing net interest margins and risks,” he said in remarks at a banking conference in Atlanta on Thursday.
In company news, cloud services company Salesforce.com was the standout performer on the S&P 500 following an upbeat outlook for the year and better-than-expected fourth quarter numbers.
Campbell Soup pushed up after its second-quarter results beat analysts’ expectations.
Best Buy reversed earlier losses to end up after posting better-than-expected fourth quarter results but a downbeat profit outlook.
Kohl’s also turned higher despite posting a 20% fall in fourth quarter profit and announcing plans to close underperforming locations.
The US dollar was down 0.2% against the pound, 0.1% weaker against the euro and up 0.7% versus the yen.
S&P 500 - Risers
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $69.43 +11.05%
Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) $19.92 +7.56%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $60.74 +4.94%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $98.07 +4.76%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $80.25 +4.42%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $33.14 +4.38%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $24.41 +4.23%
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $307.47 +4.22%
Allergan plc (AGN) $296.53 +4.16%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $72.25 +4.03%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $2.56 -4.83%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $7.88 -4.83%
HP Inc (HPQ) $10.35 -4.34%
Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) $16.00 -3.79%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $7.66 -3.28%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $23.85 -2.55%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $16.43 -2.32%
Apache Corp. (APA) $37.77 -2.15%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $27.65 -2.09%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $505.04 -1.91%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $98.07 +4.76%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $62.36 +3.25%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $60.43 +2.39%
Visa Inc. (V) $73.32 +2.05%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $30.59 +1.90%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $148.18 +1.80%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $57.01 +1.55%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.62 +1.47%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $52.10 +1.44%
American Express Co. (AXP) $55.39 +1.37%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $187.68 +4.85%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $38.36 +4.30%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $183.14 +4.18%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $86.68 +3.91%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $52.68 +3.25%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $94.52 +3.18%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $73.88 +3.11%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $71.64 +2.96%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $72.43 +2.77%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $74.95 +2.69%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $24.93 -2.92%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $158.22 -2.78%
NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $24.63 -1.44%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $85.53 -1.43%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $24.88 -1.27%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $140.54 -1.01%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $24.57 -1.01%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $51.36 -0.83%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $41.21 -0.77%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $30.92 -0.51%