Stocks Move Mostly Higher Amid Jump In Oil Prices - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks have moved mostly higher over the course of the trading session on Friday. With the upward move, the major averages are adding to the gains posted in the three previous sessions.

In recent trading, the major averages have pulled back off their worst levels, but they remain in positive territory. The Dow is up 74.06 points or 0.4 percent at 17,017.96, the Nasdaq is up 22.53 points or 0.5 percent at 4,729.95 and the S&P 500 is up 9.98 points or 0.5 percent at 2,003.38.

The strength that has emerged on Wall Street is partly due to a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, which has recently been a key driver of the markets.

Crude for April delivery is currently jumping $1.01 to $35.58 a barrel after slipping $0.09 to $34.57 a barrel on Thursday.

Traders are also digesting the Labor Department's closely watched monthly jobs report, which showed a jump in employment but a modest drop in wages.

The report said total non-farm employment jumped by 242,000 jobs in February compared to economist estimates for an increase of about 190,000 jobs.

Job growth in December and January was also upwardly revised to 271,000 and 172,000, respectively, reflecting a net upward revision of 30,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department also said average hourly employee earnings dipped 3 cents or 0.1 percent to $25.35. Earnings were up by 2.2 percent year-over-year.

Analysts have recently been focused on wages amid ongoing uncertainty about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

"Overall, it's clear that labor market conditions are still strong," said Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics. "The lack of a more marked pick-up in wage growth is the only missing element."

"But as far as the Fed is concerned, it is already seeing a clear acceleration in core price inflation, so it can't delay raising interest rates for much longer," he added. "A June rate hike is coming."

The jobs report has largely overshadowed a separate report from the Commerce Department showing that the U.S. trade deficit widened in January.

Sector News

Extending a recent rally, steel stocks have shown a substantial move to the upside on the day. The NYSE Arca Steel Index has surged up by 6.4 percent to its best intraday level in four months.

Within the steel sector, Ryerson (RYI), Gerdau (GGB), and U.S. Steel (X) are posting particularly strong gains.

Energy stocks are also seeing considerable strength in mid-day trading, moving higher along with the price of crude oil.

The NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index has jumped by 5.3 percent, while Philadelphia Oil Service Index is up by 4.7 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index is up by 2 percent.

Gold stocks are also moving sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, and considerable strength is also visible among tobacco, trucking, and brokerage stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index ended the day up by 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.2 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged up by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index advanced by 0.9 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have come under pressure on the heels of the monthly jobs report. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 6.3 basis points at 1.893 percent.