Stock Rout to Deepen in Asia After Oil Breaks $27; Yen Stronger

USA stocks closed higher Friday, for their first positive week in four, helped by a recovery in oil from multiyear lows and hopes of stimulus overseas.

That followed Thursday’s statements by the head of the European Central Bank suggesting the bank would enact more stimulus for the eurozone in March. The S&P 500 was 1.5% higher and the Nasdaq composite was up 1.8%.

J. W. Burns & Company increased its position in SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The yen maintained gains after surging as much as 1.4 percent last session, when US crude oil tumbled 6.7 percent to its lowest point since May 2003.

US stocks rose Thursday and recovered some of their steep losses from the day before.

“It will therefore be necessary to review and possibly reconsider our monetary policy stance at our next meeting in early March”, said ECB President Mario Draghi.

SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) traded down 1.51% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.61. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 2.6% on Friday, while Asian markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkeis-early-surge-leads-asian-market-rebound-2016-01-21) finished with solid gains, including a almost 6% rise for the Nikkei 225 index. He was surprised by the bank’s explicit reference to action at its next meeting as well as Mr. Draghi’s comments that there were “no limits” to the instruments it could use to achieve its inflation goals.

Meanwhile, investors were also betting on more stimulus from the Bank of Japan after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s aide on Thursday said that “conditions for additional easing have fallen into place”.

The volatile Shanghai Composite Index lost 3.2% despite a large cash injection from the People’s Bank of China.

By noon on the East Coast, the S&P had gained nearly 30 points while the Nasdaq jumped up by nearly 95 points.

United States stocks slumped after wild swings as a further decline in oil prices continued to weigh on investor sentiment.