Wall Street recovers led by energy shares
U.S. stocks started the day under pressure on Thursday as falling oil prices continued to weigh on energy shares. WTI fell below $49 for the first time since late November but was able to correct towards $50 area after finding support at $48.60. At the moment, WTI is still retreating 1.07% at $49.75.
The S&P 500 energy index .SPNY was down 0.5%, extending the previous session's slide. However, as WTI started to recover, so did the energy index and at the time of writing, it was up 0.6%. Regarding the oil prices, former head of the Energy Information Administration, Adam Sieminski, said that people are nervous about the global supply-demand balance and there’s uncertainty about whether OPEC and its partners are going to roll over the production agreement.
On the other hand, the S&P 500 financial index .SPSY was up 0.3%, leading the gains. Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, argued that financials have been a massive leadership group, and a lot of it has been built on deregulation promises.
Forex today: ECB delivered a less dovish outcome, bullish for EUR
The market also received some help from another strong labor data. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week rose by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 243,000 for the week ended March 4, according to the report published by the Labor Department on Thursday.However, a separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that in February, U.S. employers announced plans to cut 36,957 jobs, a 40% decline compared to February 2016.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.02%, to 20,858.19, the S&P 500 had gained 0.1%, to 2,358.89 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.02%, to 5,838.81.
Headlines from the U.S. session
- U.S. Treasury yields extend rise, 10-year yield breaks above 2.6%
- US: Layoffs fall in February, another sign pointing to a strong NFP
- China's exports on the radar, contracting but not concerning - UOB