The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 100 points, breaking its 8-day losing streak. As oil prices rallied, Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) were the best-performing stocks on the index.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell around 20 points. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) was a top decliner, dropping more than 4% to US$333.63 at the close.
The S&P 500 saw minimal gains of 5 points by the closing bell.
Up north, the TSX jumped more than 100 points due to a boost in the energy sector.
The Russell 2000 small-cap index fell slightly, dragged down by Green Brick Partners Inc (NASDAQ:GRBK) and Smart Global Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:SGH).
1:30pm: Dow on track to break eight-day losing streak as OPEC rallies big oil stocks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is on track to break a eight-day losing streak led by a rally in big oil after OPEC said it would increase production.
That sent the price of crude shooting up 4.5% to US$68.49 per barrel Friday afternoon and pushed up shares of Dow leaders Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM).
The Big Board added 169 points to 24630, while the Nasdaq lagged, losing 3 points to 7709. Marathon Oil Corp (NYSE:MRO) led the S&P 500 to a 12-point gain to 2762.
Investors were also cheered by positive flash PMI numbers this morning and successful stress tests indicating the health of the US financial sector.
11:00am: Dow Jones adds 125 points in early deals, but US benchmarks mixed as Trump pulls out latest tariff threat
As European markets went higher, US benchmarks were broadly higher in early deals as market fears eased, although they were ramped up again as President Trump's latest tariff threat involved the European car market.
Investors eyes are also on the crunch OPEC oil meeting later in Vienna as producers discuss whether and how much to increase production by now that the targets of its previous 1.5 million barrel a day cut have been achieved.
There remains disagreement between some members on how much to increase, with Iran, notably, not wanting to bow to pressure from the US.
President Trump threatens to place 20% tariffs on automobiles imported from Europe. "Build them here," he tweeted. https://t.co/kanhMDMy6z pic.twitter.com/5VoWGZmk7j
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 22, 2018
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added over 108 points to 24, 570, while the S&P 500 added over six points to stand at 2,755.
The Nasdaq, howver, is down around 31 points at 7,682 as big names like Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and Tesla Inc (NASDAS:TSLA) shares got hit, the latter down 3.72% to US$334.60.
It comes as the electric car giant has reported a former employee to police after he claimed he was planning to carry out a shooting at its Gigafactory.
A notable gainer was Carmax Inc (NYSE:KMX), which shot up over 11% to US$79.14 after the firm smashed earnings estimates for its fiscal first quarter.
Meanwhile, President Trump has tweeted another tariff threat, targeting imported autos from the European Union.
He said if the he EU does not removed duties on US cars, then the USA will have no choice but to act.
Daimler AG (ETR:DAI) shares shed 1.21%, while VW shed 0.61%. BMW shares slumped 2% in Frankfurt.