Off the wire
• 1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar slumps amid soft data, Dudley comments  • Rome faces low-sum rental scandal  • Colombian guerrillas call on U.S. to help finance peace process  • Germany's benchmark DAX index continues to decline  • Foreign exchange rate of Euro to other currencies  • Portugal to raise taxes in state budget for 2016: lawmakers  • Russia accuses Turkey of violating Treaty on Open Skies, vowing retaliation  • 1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks end mixed as oil soars  • Roundup: Syrian opposition says won't return to peace talks unless sees "changes on ground"  • Russia agrees to take 200 to 300 asylum seekers from Norway  
You are here: 　 Home

Roundup: U.S. stocks end mixed as oil soars

Xinhua, February 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks reversed sharp early losses to close mixed Wednesday, as a strong rebound in oil prices boosted market sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 183.12 points, or 1.13 percent, to 16,336.66. The S&P 500 gained 9.50 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,912.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 12.71 points, or 0.28 percent, to 4,504.24.

Oil prices spiked on Wednesday, with both the U.S. oil and Brent crude surging more than 7 percent, as the U.S. dollar tumbled against other currencies.

Rumors of an emergency meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) resumed, which also helped buoy the market.

The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery surged 2.4 U.S. dollars to settle at 32.28 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery jumped 2.32 dollars to close at 35.04 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

On the economic front, U.S. private sectors added 205,000 jobs in January, beating market consensus of 190,000, according to the ADP National Employment Report Wednesday.

The ADP figure is watched closely as a pre-indicator for the non-farm payrolls report due out on Friday.

Meanwhile, the U.S. non-manufacturing index registered 53.5 percent in January, 2.3 percentage points lower than the seasonally adjusted December reading of 55.8 percent and below market consensus of 55.5, the Institute Supply Management (ISM) said Wednesday.

In corporate news, shares of Merck fell 0.71 percent to 50.05 dollars apiece Wednesday, after the drug giant delivered quarterly earnings above estimates but revenues short of forecast.

Shares of Yahoo shed 4.75 percent to 27.68 dollars apiece, as the Internet service company's newly-released restructuring plan disappointed investors, even though it reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Overseas, European equities declined broadly Wednesday. British benchmark FTSE 100 Index dropped 1.43 percent, while French benchmark index CAC 40 tumbled 1.33 percent.

In Asia, Chinese benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.38 percent to end at 2,739.25 points Wednesday, while Japanese 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average plunged 3.15 percent to end at 17,191.25 points.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 1.50 percent to end at 21.65 Wednesday.

In other markets, the U.S. dollar plunged amid weaker-than-expected economic data and the dovish remarks from the New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley about the country's economic developments.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1092 dollars from 1.0909 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 117.72 Japanese yen, lower than 120.17 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose as weaker U.S. dollar gave support to the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for April delivery increased 14.1 dollars, or 1.25 percent, to settle at 1,141.30 dollars per ounce. Endit