U.S. stocks open higher as oil extends gains
Xinhua, February 18, 2016 Adjust font size:
U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday as investors cheered over a continued rally in oil prices.
Oil prices continued to rise Thursday, with both the U.S. oil and Brent crude jumping over 2 percent in early trading, as an industry report showed a surprise drop in U.S. inventories.
On Wednesday, oil prices rocketed after Iran supported output freeze deal proposed by top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Persistent oversupply, bloated inventories and a slew of negative economic news dragged crude prices to 12-year low last week.
On the economic front, in the week ending February 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 262,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 269,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
The 4-week moving average was 273,250, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 281,250.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.70 points, or 0.24 percent, to 16,492.53. The S&P 500 edged up 1.12 points, or 0.06 percent, to 1,927.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 6.05 points, or 0.13 percent, to 4,540.11.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks surged for a third straight session, as Wall Street assessed spiking oil prices and the Federal Reserve's minutes amid mixed data. Endi