Wall Street soared on Friday as oil prices rebounded from depressed levels.
At 3:29 p.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose 1.1% to 16,058. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) jumped 1.7% to 1,901, while the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) surged 2.3% to 4,573.
U.S. economic data on Friday showed existing home sales soared nearly 15 percent in December, handily beating estimates and recovering from a 10.5 percent fall in November.
U.S. crude-oil prices rose 9% to $32.19 a barrel, its second straight day of gains. Brent, the global benchmark, also rallied.
General Electric (NYSE:GE) dropped 1.4% to $28.19 after its quarterly revenue missed analysts' estimates.
American Express (NYSE:AXP) fell 12% to $55.04 after a disappointing earnings forecast.
Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) rose 6% to $65.14 after the world's biggest oilfield services company reported better-than-expected profit and set a $10bn buyback program.
Lunchtime
After a flying start, stocks have come off the top but many are still sporting handsome gains.
With the S&P 500 up 33 points, or 1.8%, the Dow Jones 175 points (1.1%) higher and the Nasdaq Composite 103 points (2.3%) to the good, the major benchmarks are on course to notch up their first weekly gain of 2016.
Some household names were failing to participate in the advance, however, such as American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX).
Amex was getting a shellacking after reporting a 38% decline in fourth quarter earnings, and even the usual Wall Street-pleasing ploy of announcing a massive cost-cutting campaign failed to save it from logging a 12.3% fall.
Freeport, meanwhile, was down 8.1%, despite the rally in oil prices.
Tutor Perini (NYSE:TPC) tumbled on Friday after the civil and building construction company anticipated results for 2015 to be significantly below its previous forecast. The shares lost almost a fifth of their value.
Open
Traders' screens were awash with green, as prices raced ahead this morning.
The S&P 500 shot up 35 points (1.9%) to 1,904, the Dow Jones average advanced 227 points (1.4%) to 16,115 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 100 points (2.2%) to 4,571.
Investors have taken heart from the strong recovery in oil prices; West Texas Intermediate for March delivery is up 6.4% at US$31.44 a barrel.
“Given how fierce the sell-off has been until now, it will be interesting to see just how far these rallies are allowed to run before sellers see value once again. Both Brent and WTI could face their first real test around $32.50, with a move above here potentially opening a move back towards $35,” suggested Craig Erlam at trading platform operator Oanda.
Naturally, energy companies lead the charge, with Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB), Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) the stand-out stocks.
Further down the food chain, Nephrogenex (NASDAQ:NRX) soars 22.7% after it was given the go-ahead to continue its phase 3 study of oral Pyridorin in diabetic nephropathy, a diabetic kidney disease.
Ceres (NASDAQ:CERE) saw its share price sprout up like beanstalk in the “Jack & the Beanstalk” fairy tale, as the agricultural biotechnology company said it had been awarded an Australian patent for a trait that allows growers to increase yields without increasing crop inputs like fertilizer.
Shares were slightly off the top but still up 31% at 32 cents after 45 minutes' trading.
Great Basin Scientific (NASDAQ:GBSN) rose 56% after the conversion of its remaining series C warrants.
Pre-open
The good times are set to continue to roll, with investors betting that central banks worldwide will act to put some juice into financial markets.
Markets roared ahead in Asia overnight while European stocks this morning are racing ahead after Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, tipped the wink to the markets, saying he may introduce new stimulus measures as early as March.
“Markets have seen a dramatic shift in sentiment in the space of a few days. The stabilization began mid-week when oil prices rebounded from 12-year lows but strong hints of further monetary stimulus from the ECB has kicked off a full-on relief rally,” noted Jasper Lawler, a market analyst at spread betting firm CMC Markets.
“Oil prices have jumped to a five-day high back above $30 per barrel and, should gains be preserved, have the best week in three months. There hasn’t been a real fundamental catalyst for the rebound in oil; US weekly inventories actually saw a bigger build than expected. You could call it the “IEA low” after the agency made its untimely comment that the oil market would drown in oversupply,” Lawler added.
Spread betting quotes point to a 183 point rise at 16,065 at the outset, while the S&P 500 is tipped to open at around 1,893, after closing last night at 1,869.
In the newspapers, USA today contrasts the fortunes of JPMorgan's chief executive, Jamie Dimon, who saw his pay rise to US$27mln last year from US$20mln the year before, and those members of the investment bank that lost their jobs as part of the bank's cost cutting campaign.
The Washington Post focuses on how companies are looking to exploit loopholes in so-called Obamacare, by excluding out-patient surgery in company health plans.
Outpatient surgery accounts for two out of every three operations in the nation, according to hospital industry data.
In other healthcare news, the Los Angeles Times covers a Senate report entitled "Preventable Tragedies", which found not one of the 16 or more American hospitals where patients suffered potentially deadly infections appeared to have properly filed the required federal report.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the recent stock market set-back has put a number of what it calls “Cloud-computing upstarts” in play.
Entrenched technology giants that have seen their market share eroded by more nimble start-up companies may swoop to buy the upstarts now their market valuations have slumped.
Lastly, the New York Times reckons more than two feet of snow could hit Washington, starting today, while New York could see snow a foot deep, as a storm moves north.