Wall Street traded higher on Thursday, stretching Wednesday's recovery as oil recovered slightly from multi-year lows.
All three benchmark indexes finishes in positive territory, though the Nasdaq Composite barely so, as stocks came off towards the close.
The Dow Jones Industrial (INDEXDJX:.DJI) advanced 116 points to 15,882; the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 10 points to 1,869; the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) was up less than a point at 4,472.
US stocks recieved a boost in the morning from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's remarks that downside risks have increased again and the central bank needs to review, possibly reconsider policy stance at the next meeting.
U.S. crude ended 4.2% higher at $29.53 a barrel after trading as high as $30.25.
The rise comes even as the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday that crude inventories rose by 4 million barrels for the week ended January 15.
In economic news, initial jobless claims climbed a seasonally adjusted 10,000 to 293,000 in the seven days stretching from January 10 to January 16. That is the highest level since last July.
The Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index was in negative territory in January for the fifth month in a row.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) jumped 15.4% a day after the company reported a quarterly loss on a big asset write-down.
US Open
U.S. equity markets rebounded from a recent drop as traders bought stocks at a discount and considered a batch of corporate earnings.
At 12:01 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose 1.5% to 16,005. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) also increased 1.5% to 1,887. The Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) was up 1.3% at 4,528.
Every major sector was recently in the green, led by telecommunications and consumer discretionary stocks. The embattled energy sector logged a solid advance amid a rise in crude oil prices.
Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) gained 3.5% to $45.98 after the telecom giant reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Oil prices climbed 6%, rebounding off 12-year lows, as hopes for easier monetary policy in Europe calmed falling financial markets. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded at $30.06 per barrel, up 6%. International benchmark Brent was up 5.8% at $29.50 a barrel.
The gains for U.S. stocks echoed an advance in many European indices sparked by dovish commentary from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.
Data released late Wednesday by the American Petroleum Institute showed crude inventories rose by 4.6mln barrels, while the EIA reported commercial crude inventories rose by about 4mln barrels. Crude inventories climbed to the highest level since 1990.
Pre-Open
As European indices edged higher Thursday, Wall Street is poised for another day of losses.
In London, FTSE100 is up 27 points at the time of writing but it comes after sharp falls yesterday both there and in the US.
The Dow Jones closed 249 down at 15,766. The Nasdaq lost around 5 points at 4,471 and the S&P500 shed 22 at 1,859.
There were more losses on the Chinese market overnight, with the Shanghai composite index losing 97 points.
Today's newsblast is that Chin confirmed plans to decouple its currency from the US dollar, which first emerged last December, and peg the yuan instead to a basket of currencies.
But amid the chaos in markets seen since the beginning of 2016, many have questions over any future policy.
In futures trading today, the Dow is poised to start 86 points lower; the S&P500 around nine down and the Nasdaq futures are down 23 at the time of writing.
Oil is also continuing its slide with US crude now at US$28 a barrel - 1.27% down.
Oil services firm Transocean (NYSE:RIG) is the top big cap faller in pre-market trading, after analysts at Citi repeated a 'sell' rating and Deutsche lowered the price target.
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