US stocks end higher as oil prices rise

USA stocks opened lower on Monday, relinquishing some of last week’s gains as a slump in oil prices weighed on energy shares.

The major averages extended losses as the close approached, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite more than 1.5 percent lower and the Dow Jones industrial average off more than 200 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 282.01 points or 1.78 per cent to 16,167.23.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 1.4 percent to 1,903.61 at 1:54 p.m.in NY, after falling 1.6 percent yesterday amid the energy group’s worst one-day drop since August.

Wall Street rebounded over 1 percent on Tuesday, driven by a surge in oil prices and strong quarterly results from 3M, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.

“When we consider that the fundamental factors at play – increased Iraq output, the return of Iran to the market and another rout in China overnight – it would not be unreasonable to expect broad declines in oil today, given how this year has gone so far”, said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda. On the Nasdaq, 2,030 issues rose and 671 fell. Coach Inc. climbed 5.3 percent after raising its full-year earnings outlook.

Apple Inc. was little changed in late trading after its earnings report.

The Federal Reserve is slated to begin a two-day meeting, with a statement due Wednesday afternoon. Separate data showed consumer confidence improved in January to a three-month high as Americans grew more upbeat about the prospects for the economy, labor market and their incomes.

The S&P 500 is down 166.86 points, or 8.2 percent. Sales and iPhone shipments fell short of projections in the quarter ended in December, reinforcing concerns that Apple is reaching the limits of iPhone growth.

Shares in Procter & Gamble were up after it reported earnings that were better than expectations, boosted by an increase in organic sales.

The gains in stocks came on the back of a rally in oil prices.

The S&P 500 has tumbled more than 7 per cent this year. (HAL) gained 1%, turning higher despite the company reporting adjusted fourth-quarter earnings ahead of expectations, but said 2016 could be another challenging year for the industry. Arctic Cat Inc. sank 7.5 percent to a five-year low, and Harley-Davidson Inc. slipped 3.1 percent to the lowest since August 2012.

Halliburton was down 1.6 percent at $29.70 after the oilfield services company reported a 42 percent fall in revenue, while D.R. Horton was up 1 percent at $28, after its profit beat estimates.