US close: Wall Street extends winning streak to third day

US stock markets enjoyed their first three-day winning streak in what has been a torrid 2016, as encouraging talks on freezing oil production mingled with Federal Reserve minutes that suggested no rate hike before June.

For the first time in its history, the Dow Jones rose more than 200 points for the third day in a row as bullish bargain hunters looked to call an end to the correction, closing up 1.59% at 16,453.83.

The S&P was 1.65% higher at 1,926.82, while the Nasdaq finished up 2.21% at 4,534.07.

Big oil freeze?

Wall Street got off to a strong start, with oil major Chevron leading the charge as oil prices moved choppily higher on hopes that global oil producing nations would succeed in widening a deal on freezing production.

A pledge by Saudi Arabia and Russian to not increase output, which is the first such instance of OPEC and non-OPEC cooperation on oil production for 15 years, was also backed by Venezuela and Qatar.

Following a meeting with counterparts from Iraq, Venezuela and Qatar, Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh welcomed the moves but fell short of a commitment to limiting his own country’s production level.

Nevertheless, West Texas Intermediate crude finished the Wall Street session almost 5% higher to break back above $30, while Brent gained 6.34% to $34.22 per barrel.

Fed minutes

The release of minutes from the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) from its January 26-27 meeting showed the rate setters spent plenty of time debating the implications of global economic and financial developments on the US economic outlook, agreeing that uncertainty had increased, with many arguing this increased the downside risks to the outlook.

Rabobank strategist Philip Marey summarised the minutes as showing that most participants were of the view that there was not yet enough evidence to indicate whether the balance of risks to the medium-term outlook had changed materially, though several judged recent developments had increased the level of downside risks or that the risks were no longer balanced.

"The uncertainty about the economic outlook, with increased downside risks, and the need for more evidence to gauge the balance of risks suggest that a March rate hike is only a theoretical possibility, but in practice we do not expect to see a hike before June."

This chimed with Barclays, which after sifting through the minutes reiterated its forecast for a hike in June and another in December, with Merrill Lynch cutting its expectations of a US central bank rates rise to two over the coming year, down from a prior expectation for three or four hikes.

"In our view, not only is fear trumping fundamentals, but the fundamentals for the equity market are worse than for the overall economy," read a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch note on Wednesday afternoon.

Economic data stateside included industrial and manufacturing output figures from the Federal Reserve that surprised to the upside. Industrial production was up 0.9% in January compared to a month ago, beating analysts’ estimates for a 0.4% increase. Manufacturing output rose 0.5% month-on-month in January, ahead of forecasts for a 0.2% gain.

US housing starts figures were less impressive, falling 3.8% in January on the month, trailing estimates for a 2% rise, the Commerce Department revealed. Mortgage applications in the US increased 8.2% in the week to 12 February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In corporate news, Boeing climbed as news of a $1.3bn order from China’s Okay Airways combined with CEO Dennis Muilenburg's reassuring words about the growth outlook and a recent probe into accounting methods.

Priceline gained after the travel website operator reported a rise in fourth quarter profit that surpassed expectations.

Fossil Group rallied strongly after the watchmaker posted better-than-estimated quarterly results.

Kinder Morgan was sitting higher after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a stake in the pipeline operator.

S&P 500 - Risers
Fossil Group Inc (FOSL) $44.30 +28.55%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $41.06 +16.55%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $8.56 +14.29%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $8.87 +12.42%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $7.16 +12.40%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,235.56 +11.24%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $8.88 +11.00%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $52.92 +8.80%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $124.55 +7.88%
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $1.93 +7.82%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $52.79 -4.81%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $20.33 -4.37%
FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) $32.27 -3.56%
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (DPS) $89.33 -2.91%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $89.36 -1.96%
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $143.41 -1.77%
L Brands Inc (LB) $81.85 -1.75%
Cummins Inc. (CMI) $97.53 -1.62%
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) $69.97 -1.41%
XL Group Plc (XL) $34.22 -1.24%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $88.31 +4.13%
Boeing Co. (BA) $116.34 +3.32%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $67.26 +3.14%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $60.60 +2.96%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $95.50 +2.79%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $126.10 +2.74%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $118.30 +2.74%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $52.42 +2.60%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.47 +2.40%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $26.45 +2.36%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $29.63 -0.60%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $118.64 -0.45%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.79 +12.46%
Priceline Group Inc (PCLN) $1,235.56 +11.24%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $168.68 +8.71%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $46.27 +7.23%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $94.76 +6.41%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $36.02 +6.07%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $37.31 +5.75%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $11.43 +5.74%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $42.83 +5.60%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $69.22 +5.41%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $52.79 -4.81%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $89.36 -1.96%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $254.62 -0.45%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $158.92 -0.06%