Stocks break 3-day slide, Dow gains 82
Stocks rose Thursday as Wall Street halted a three-day downturn despite another drop in oil prices.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 82 points, or 0.5%, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 0.4%.
Investors have been confronting a variety of issues this week including plunging oil prices, global pressures and the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will begin raising interest rates for the first time in almost a decade at its meeting next week. Fed Chair Janet Yellen has signaled the time is near to raise rates that have been near zero since the financial crisis of 2008.
“There is a fear over the market. China is slowing, emerging markets are slowing,” said James Dunigan, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management. “But if the Fed can say we’re comfortable with U.S. employment and economic growth, that will be a positive.”
Oil prices fell back below $37 a barrel as U.S. benchmark crude was down 0.6% to $36.94.
European markets were mixed as Germany's DAX index rose 0.1% and Britain's FTSE 100 index dropped 0.6%.
Asian markets dropped as Japan’s Nikkei 225 index tumbled 1.3% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.5%. The Shanghai composite index also lost 0.5%.
New Zealand’s central bank cut interest rates for the fourth time in six months by a quarter percentage point to 2.5%, but also signaled that it is not planning further cuts as inflation is expected to rise. Analysts said it was the latest sign that the central banks in developed countries, from Europe to Japan and the United States, are done with monetary easing.
An early stock rally faded Wednesday as the Dow closed 75 points lower and the S&P 500 slid 16 points.
Contributing: Associated Press