Oil hit its highest level in 3-1/2 years as investors worried that
Trump’s decision would increase risks of conflict in the Middle East and
curtail oil supplies in a tight market.
The energy index .SPNY, which rose 2.4 percent, has far outperformed
other main S&P sectors in the quarter, with a 12 percent gain.
“There’s a bit more of a risk appetite coming into the market today,”
said Shawn Cruz, senior trading specialist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago.
“The rise in oil is helping energy sector, which is expected to be a
pretty big growth sector. A lot of analysts are expecting strong earnings as
oil rebounds, and that hasn’t really played out so much early this year.”
At 12:50 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 163.06 points, or 0.67 percent, at 24,523.27, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 21.91 points, or 0.82 percent, at 2,693.83 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was
up 50.07 points, or 0.69 percent, at 7,316.98.
The growth sectors including technology, financials and industrials were
all higher, with only the defensive utilities and telecoms in the red.
But worries that rising oil prices will perk up inflation lingered.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR rose to a two-week high and
above the key 3 percent level on expectations of higher interest rates. [US/]
“Oil is probably not helping, it’s a kind of a potential inflation
indicator,” said Mark Travis, chief executive officer of Intrepid Capital Funds
in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
“The underlying challenge for the financial markets is not so much
whether Trump does or doesn’t do anything. It is the impact of the rates rising
facing an expensive capital markets.”
Among stocks, Walmart (WMT.N)
fell 3.3 percent after the retailer took a majority stake in Indian e-commerce
firm Flipkart for about $16 billion.
Walt Disney (DIS.N)
dipped 1.6 percent despite reporting a quarterly profit above Wall Street
estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.47-to-1 ratio on the NYSE.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.47-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 32 new 52-week highs and 10 new lows, while
the Nasdaq recorded 129 new highs and 44 new lows.
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