Stocks Close Higher Amid Strength In The Energy Sector - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session, stocks continued to experience choppy trading on Thursday but once again managed to end the day mostly higher.

The major averages all closed in positive territory, near their best levels of the day. The Dow rose 56.22 points or 0.3 percent to 17,958.73, the Nasdaq climbed 23.74 points or 0.5 percent to 4,974.56 and the S&P 500 advanced 9.28 points or 0.5 percent to 2,091.18.

The positive close by the broader markets was partly due to considerable strength that emerged in the energy sector, which benefited from a modest rebound by the price of crude oil.

After tumbling $3.56 to $50.42 a barrel on Wednesday, crude for May delivery climbed by $0.37 to end the day at $50.79 a barrel.

Within the energy sector, oil service stocks posted particularly strong gains, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 3.2 percent. The gain lifted the index to its best closing level in almost two months.

Tidewater (TDW), Cameron (CAM), and Halliburton (HAL) turned in some of the oil service sector's best performances on the day.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index also climbed by 1.9 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

Telecom, railroad, and semiconductor stocks also saw notable strength on the day, while considerable weakness was visible among commercial real estate stocks.

The choppy trading seem for most of the day came as traders continued to digest the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting released Wednesday afternoon.

The minutes showed that Fed officials were divided about when to begin raising interest rates, with some calling for a rate hike in June even as others suggested waiting until next year.

Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates may increase the focus on economic data in the weeks leading up to the next Fed meeting.

The Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing a rebound in initial jobless claims in the week ended April 4th, although the less volatile four-week moving average dropped to a nearly fifteen-year low.

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 281,000 after falling to a two-month low of 267,000 in the previous week. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 285,000.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department also said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 282,250, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average of 285,250.

The modest drop pulled the four-week moving average down to its lowest level since hitting 281,500 in June of 2000.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday's trading mixed. While Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index soared by 2.7 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved notably higher on the day. The French CAC 40 Index surged up by 1.4 percent, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index both jumped by 1.1 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries moved notably lower after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, advanced 6.3 basis points to 1.958 percent.

Looking Ahead

A report on import and export prices may attract some attention on Friday along with speeches by Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker and Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota.