US close: Stocks end higher as OPEC agrees to limit production
US stocks closed in the green on Wednesday as oil prices rose after OPEC signalled it would address the global supply glut.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 0.61% to 18,339.24 points, the S&P 500 edged up 0.53% to 2,171.37 points and the Nasdaq climbed 0.24% to 5,318.55 points.
OPEC reached an “understanding” to limit oil production during a meeting in Algeria and is considering reducing output to between 32.5 million to 33 million barrels per day, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The news came as data from the Energy Information Administration showed US crude inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels in the week to 23 September to 502.7 million barrels. The drawdown in crude stocks was offset by a 2 million barrel build in gasoline stockpiles.
The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday revealed a surprise fall of 752,000 barrels to 506.4m last week.
West Texas Intermediate crude jumped 4.8% to $46.96 per barrel and Brent surged 5.4% to $48.61 per barrel at 2151 BST.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen delivered her testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. She focused on banks, saying lenders were well capitalised but remain challenged by weak interest income. Yellen also said the US central bank is considering stress tests requiring more capital from the country’s biggest lenders.
In economic data, US durable goods orders were unchanged in August, the Commerce Department revealed, following a 3.6% increase in July. Economists had been expecting a 1.5% decline last month.
“Although durable goods orders were unchanged in August, the details of the report were weak,” according to Capital Economics.
“It now appears that equipment investment contracted in the third quarter, which means the risks to our estimate that third-quarter GDP growth was 2.5% are now skewed to the downside.”
In corporate news, Nike was weaker after it reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit late on Tuesday but weaker-than-forecast future orders.
Mattress company Tempur Sealy International tumbled after downgrading its guidance for 2016.
Deutsche Bank AG’s US-listed shares recovered after news the troubled German lender is selling an insurance business amid worries about the bank’s legal troubles in the US.
Blackberry gained after the group raised its full year outlook and announced a new chief financial officer.
Dow Jones - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $86.59 4.48%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $86.90 4.40%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $102.15 3.20%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $89.46 1.24%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $63.30 1.17%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $128.27 1.14%
Visa Inc. (V) $82.97 0.99%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $158.26 0.97%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $113.95 0.76%
3M Co. (MMM) $177.60 0.73%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $53.26 -3.78%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $115.18 -1.45%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.15 -1.03%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.06 -0.82%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $71.77 -0.75%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $140.41 -0.27%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $67.18 -0.10%
American Express Co. (AXP) $64.22 -0.09%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $102.35 0.00%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $31.50 0.06%
S&P 500 - Risers
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $28.91 11.28%
National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $36.27 8.46%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $6.75 8.35%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $41.58 8.34%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $15.18 7.97%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $62.78 7.74%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $17.18 7.31%
ConocoPhillips (COP) $42.18 6.97%
Apache Corp. (APA) $63.70 6.90%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $10.90 6.86%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $57.50 -4.60%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $53.26 -3.78%
Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) $46.58 -3.60%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $17.44 -3.11%
L Brands Inc (LB) $70.95 -2.86%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $40.22 -2.64%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $123.76 -1.76%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $87.45 -1.69%
VF Corp. (VFC) $55.67 -1.61%
AutoZone Inc. (AZO) $767.15 -1.60%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $93.20 4.64%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $36.56 3.07%
Liberty Media Corporation - Series C (LMCK) $28.52 2.30%
CA Inc. (CA) $33.33 2.02%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $58.51 1.97%
Liberty Media Corporation - Class A (LMCA) $29.05 1.93%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $26.11 1.63%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $26.80 1.63%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $81.53 1.58%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $828.72 1.55%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $57.50 -4.60%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $17.44 -3.11%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $40.22 -2.64%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $123.76 -1.76%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $87.45 -1.69%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $187.74 -1.62%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $63.43 -1.49%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $105.83 -1.46%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $26.29 -1.46%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $58.01 -1.44%