U.S. stocks open lower as oil rout resumes

Advertisment Stock futures pointed to a higher start for Canada’s main stock index on Tuesday as oil prices steadied near their 11-year lows, under pressure from slowing global demand and abundant supplies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 193 points to 17,721 and the Nasdaq finished up 1.3 per cent to 5,108.

The investment bank has a 2016 price target of 2,100 on the S&P 500, about 1 percent higher from where the index now trades.

Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite index edged down by 0.1% to 3,561.14 points at mid-day, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.5% to 21,899.42.

The S&P 500 index showed 15 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 49 new highs and 49 new lows. Exxon shares were up 1.3 percent at $79.80, while Chevron was up 2.1 percent at $92.23.

The S&P 500 stayed positive for the year, holding on to a meager 0.6 percent gain, while Nasdaq was up 7.44 percent.

Six out of 10 S&P sectors were lower, with consumer discretionary up 0.26 per cent and leading gainers thanks to a 1.87 per cent rise in Amazon.com.

The Nasdaq is up 371.88 points, or 7.9 per cent.

The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence for December is slated for release at 10am ET.

The company’s shares are trading below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages by -5.91% and -12.22%, respectively.

Trading volumes are expected to remain thin on the last trading days of the year. On the Nasdaq, 1,635 issues fell and 987 rose.

Data showed pending home sales fell 0.9 percent in November, after inching up 0.2 percent in October.

Stocks closed well above session lows Monday but held lower as a renewed slide in oil prices weighed.

Among oil stocks, Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search are adding more than 1 percent each, while Santos is up 0.2 percent following the rebound in crude oil prices. The Dow headed into Monday’s session down 1.5% for 2015 and is at risk for its first negative year since 2008.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,974 to 1,034.

Disney was up 1.1 per cent at $US107.02, the only Dow component posting gains, after the company’s latest Star Wars installment topped $US1 billion in ticket sales. Pep Boys added 8.8 percent after Carl Icahn raised his takeover offer for the auto-parts chain.

Some investors expect oil soon to bounce back and reverse broader market sentiment.