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U.S. stocks end mixed amid surging oil, economic data

Xinhua, December 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks closed mixed Wednesday, as investors eyed a sharp rally in oil prices amid a batch of economic reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 1.98 points, or 0.01 percent, to 19,123.58. The S&P 500 fell 5.85 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,198.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 56.24 points, or 1.05 percent, to 5,323.68.

The OPEC on Wednesday decided to cut its oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day, setting the ceiling of oil production at 32.5 million barrels per day.

The reduction is effective from Jan. 1,2017, and is the cartel's first oil reduction since 2008. The reduction is being coordinated with the non-OPEC country Russia, who promised to cut its production by 300,000 barrels per day.

Both U.S. oil and Brent crude rocketed about 9 percent Wednesday following the news. Lifted by the surging oil prices, the energy sector spiked 4.82 percent as the biggest advancer in the S&P 500' s ten sectors.

On the economic front, U.S. personal income in October increased 98.6 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.6 percent, beating market consensus of 0.4 percent, according to Commerce Department Wednesday.

"Since May, personal income growth has accelerated from 3.4% to 3.9%. Core PCE inflation has accelerated from 1.31% in July 2015 to 1.74%, a two-and-a-half year high. Both give the FOMC reason to remove some accommodation, which is how they characterize their December rate decision," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial.

Meanwhile, U.S. private sector employment increased by 216, 000 jobs from October to November, well above market estimates, according to the November ADP National Employment Report Wednesday.

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

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book released in the afternoon was also in focus. Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicate that the economy continued to expand across most regions from early October through mid-November, said the Beige Book. Enditem