US close:Wall Street ends on a mixed note as crude futures, bond yields soar

US markets finished on a mixed note after OPEC members agreed to slash their oil production for the first time since 2008, which sent prices soaring, against a backdrop of various strong readings on the economy and a jump in government bond yields.

By the closing bell the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 0.01% to 19,123.58 points, but the S&P 500 had skidded 0.27% to 2,198.81 points while the Nasdaq Composite retreated 1.05% to 5,323.68..

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures leapt higher by $4.20 to finish at $49.44 per barrel on NYMEX.

OPEC member countries finalised the deal discussed in the Algiers in September to cut production by 1.2m barrels per day, in a bid to push oil prices higher.

According to Gulf Energy, Iran agreed to go freeze production at just under 4m barrels per day, avoiding a cut. The country had been ramping up production after economic sanctions were lifted in January.

James Hughes, chief market analyst at GKFX, said the production deal has come 12 months too late for many as low oil prices have crippled some economies over that period.

“It has been said that the OPEC deal is contingent on non-OPEC members, such as Russia agreeing to participate… The swings in the markets on the back of every tweet that was sent by anyone close to the meeting showed that jitters and expectations that rested on OPEC and any failure could well have sparked some heavy downside for not just oil prices, but equity markets and the US dollar as well.

“All in all OPEC has cut output to levels seen back in April, the same time that Saudi Arabia ramped up production. So without yet having confirmation it does look like we have a deal, but whether it has gone far enough to give oil prices the kick they need, or prove that OPEC is a viable organisation is very much yet to be seen.”

On the data front, the ADP national employment report showed that 216,000 jobs were added in November by private employers, above the forecast 165,000. The private payroll increase was revised down to 119,000 from the 147,000 initially reported.

The personal consumption expenditures price index nudged up 0.2% in October after a similar increase in September. In the year to October, the index crept 1.4%, after rising 1.2% in September.

MNI's Chicago manufacturing sector PMI rose from a reading of 50.6 to 57.6 (consensus: 52.0).

Those better-than-expected economic figures sent yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note up by nine basis points to 2.38%.

In corporate news, Praxair’s shares were down after it confirmed had approached German rival Linde AG about resuming discussions regarding a potential offer.

Elsewhere, Splunk Inc gained slightly after it lifted its outlook for the year late on Tuesday, but design software maker Autodesk dipped after its guidance for the current quarter left investors disappointed.

Dow Jones - Risers

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $219.29 3.56%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $73.61 3.38%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $111.56 2.03%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $87.30 1.63%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $95.56 1.62%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $80.17 1.58%
American Express Co. (AXP) $72.04 0.77%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.14 0.69%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $158.32 0.46%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $29.82 -0.03%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Visa Inc. (V) $77.32 -2.31%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.90 -2.08%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $40.35 -1.94%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.70 -1.73%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $61.19 -1.61%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $60.26 -1.36%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $70.43 -1.32%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $119.27 -1.17%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $50.07 -1.11%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $111.30 -1.05%

S&P 500 - Risers

Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $18.06 20.80%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $12.90 17.06%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $45.22 15.65%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $33.91 15.26%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $18.06 14.96%
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) $69.15 14.94%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $48.33 14.63%
Hess Corp. (HES) $55.96 14.09%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $75.65 11.96%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $137.88 11.20%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $81.61 -4.72%
Amer Water Works (AWK) $72.47 -4.62%
Equifax Inc. (EFX) $114.45 -4.08%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $22.12 -4.08%
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) $69.77 -3.96%
Eversource Energy (ES) $51.62 -3.96%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $27.72 -3.88%
CMS Energy Corp. (CMS) $40.22 -3.87%
FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) $31.29 -3.87%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $42.54 -3.84%