Wall Street rose sharply on Tuesday as oil prices rallied as much as 6%.
At 3:31 a.m. in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose 1.5% to 16,124.46. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) gained 1.1% to 1,898.12, while the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) advanced 0.8% to 4,553.42. The energy sector led gains for the S&P as it surged 3.3% on the day.
Brent crude rose 4% to $31.72 a barrel, rebounding from a decline at the start of the session. U.S. crude settled up 3.7% at $31.45 per barrel, and was last trading up $1.02 at $31.36.
Sprint (NYSE:S) soared 19.8% to $3.02 after the telecommunications company reported narrower-than-expected fiscal third-quarter loss.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) rose 2.5% after the consumer-goods company adjusted quarterly profit beat Wall Street’s forecasts.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) added 4.4% to $100.67 and Coach (NYSE:COH) jumped 9.4% to $33.21. Both posted profit that topped estimates, but revenue that fell short.
In data, a reading on consumer confidence topped expectations, rising to 98.1 in January from 96.3 in the previous month, despite the turmoil on Wall Street.
The Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting, with a statement due Wednesday afternoon.
Lunchtime:
Markets worldwide may have been in the red, but US investors ignored global sentiment and drove stocks higher at the outset.
The deciding factor appeared to be the recovery in the oil price, with the price of West Texas Intermediate for March delivery rising 2.2% to US$31 a barrel in New York trading.
That was enough to trigger a rise in the Dow Jones, up 225 points at 16,112, the S&P 500, up 19 points at 1,897, and the Nasdaq Composite, up 22 points at 4,541.
Investors are often a bit hesitant ahead of the monthly meeting of the Federal Reserve's policy-making committee but there was no sign of that on Tuesday, with resource heavyweights Freeport McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) and Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB) to the fore.
Household goods giant Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) edged higher after its quarterly profit topped the Street's expectations.
Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN), down 10%, was left on the starting blocks, as it announced a US$3.4bn agreed takeover of fellow Ohio-based lender FirstMerit (NASDAQ:FMER).
FirstMerit was one of the top risers in the early going, advancing 16%.
In the papers, the New York Times looks at the lifting of the sanctions against Iran and how it has reopened the market for a number of companies.
Airbus was one of the quickest off the mark, revealing yesterday it was in talks with Iran over the sale of dozens of new commercial aircraft.
Never mind Iran,The Los Angeles Times reports, US cruise ship operators are looking for growth in China's waters.
To catch the wave of travelers expected to sail out of China over the next few years, U.S.-based cruise lines are investing heavily in new and remodeled ships, and, in some cases, are relocating their most modern and luxurious ships from U.S. ports to China. Recent signs of China's slowing economy have yet to dim their enthusiasm, reports Hugo Martin.
As expected, there was much coverage of the management changes at Twitter among the “dead tree” media.
Brett Molina, of USA Today, reported that American Express executive Leslie Berland is to become Twitter's chief marketing officer, following a series of executive departures at the social network.
The appointment was, of course, announced on Twitter.
The US edition of the Wall Street Journal revealed that American International Group will sell its broker-dealer network, conduct an initial public offering of its mortgage-insurance unit and cut costs more vigorously.
The WSJ also notes that Johnson Controls is the latest company set to move abroad in search of tax savings.
Pre-open
Slumping oil prices are back with us, and so, by the looks of things, are sliding share prices, although projected falls are modest.
The S&P 500 was staring at a four point fall to 1,874 in pre-market trading, while the Dow Jones was tipped to open at 15,858, down 17 points or so. Spread betting quotes indicate the Nasdaq Composite will open about 20 points lower at 4,176.
Asian markets were sharply lower overnight, with Japan's Nikkei 225 off 2.4% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 2.5%, while the Shanghai Composite plunged 6.4%.
European markets were mostly lower this morning.
Gold has seen some support as equities take the low road, and the most actively traded oil futures contract has, at least, managed to stay above US$30 a barrel, though it is still down 0.7% on the day to US$30.15.
“Fear seems to have returned with a vengeance as traders reduced stock exposure further this morning. A slump in Chinese stocks overnight, with the Shanghai Composite Index closing beneath 2800, and further weakness in crude oil has heightened concerns about global economic growth. Gold seems to be the sole beneficiary of all this volatility. The precious metal is trading higher this morning as investors divert funds into an asset that offers some protection during tough times,” said Manoj Ladwa of TJM Partners.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) are among the big names reporting today.