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U.S. stocks mixed on chemical giants' potential merger

Xinhua, December 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range Wednesday, as oil prices stabilized after two days of selloff and investors were cheered by a potential merger of two chemical giants.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 82.58 points, or 0.47 percent, to 17,650.58. The S&P 500 inched up 1.74 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,065.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 29.29 points, or 0.57 percent, to 5,068.95.

Dow Chemical and DuPont are reported to be in talks to combine, into what would be one of the largest transactions in a year full of huge deals. Shares of the two companies jumped more than 10 percent in the early session Wednesday.

Chevron and Exxon Mobil were among the top advancers as well, boosted by gains in oil prices Wednesday. The West Texas Intermediate for January delivery rebounded 2.32 percent in the early trading Wednesday, and Brent crude for January delivery rose 1.94 percent.

Oil prices fell Tuesday as market expected that global supplies will continue to exceed demand. The declining crude prices knocked down shares of major oil companies.

Oil prices closed near seven-year lows Monday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced the decision Friday to keep crude production pumping at the current level in an already oversupplied market.

In Asia markets, Tokyo stocks lost ground Wednesday following a disappointing showing overnight on U.S. and European bourses over concerns for the global economic recovery, and robust machinery orders data here failed to lift the market mood.

China's stocks closed mixed Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index going up 0.07 percent. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, dipped 0.88 percent.

U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday, as weak commodities prices continued to weigh on market. Endit