Tag Archives: Wall Street

Global stocks dip, dollar strengthens on Federal Reserve talk

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global equity markets edged lower on Monday as the dollar strengthened and U.S. Treasury yields rose on hawkish commentary from several Federal Reserve officials.

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said U.S. inflation is likely to accelerate in the coming years and move toward the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target, while San Francisco Fed President John Williams told Market News International he would advocate for another interest rate hike as early as the April meeting.

In addition, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said the Fed may be in line for a rate hike as soon as April, as last week’s decision to hold rates steady was more about ensuring that recent global financial volatility had settled down.

“He (Lockhart) reiterated that every meeting is a ‘live’ meeting going forward and I think that overall somewhat hawkish tone to his comments is largely what’s helping support the dollar this afternoon,” said Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange Inc in Washington.

The dollar rose 0.29 percent to 95.357 against a basket of major currencies. The greenback had fallen in the three prior weeks for a decline of 3.1 percent.

The currency fell last week when Fed policymakers revised down the number of times they expect to raise interest rates this year to two from four.

Benchmark 10-year notes were last down 13/32 in price to yield 1.9173 percent, from 1.87 percent on Friday.

The stronger dollar weighed on European equities, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst stock index closing down 0.25 percent to start a week shortened by the Easter break.

U.S. stocks were little changed as investors looked for fresh catalysts after a five-week rally that pushed the benchmark S&P 500 into positive territory for the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 21.77 points, or 0.12 percent, to 17,624.07, the S&P 500 gained 2.02 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,051.6 and the Nasdaq Composite added 13.23 points, or 0.28 percent, to 4,808.87.

MSCI’s index of world shares shed 0.14 percent.

Crude oil prices rose, as Brent settled up 0.8 percent at $41.54 and WTI settled up 1.19 percent at $39.91 a barrel, as data showed a drawdown at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S. crude. Gains were curbed, however, by concerns U.S. oil drillers could ramp up output after a two-month rally in crude.

Gold fell 0.91 percent to $1,243.60 an ounce as the dollar advanced, its third straight decline, but the metal was underpinned by expectations the ultra-low interest rate environment would persist on a global level.

Copper climbed 0.12 percent to $5,048 a tonne on expectations of stronger demand in top consumer China after a jump in imports of refined copper by the world’s second-largest economy.

Sterling fell 0.73 percent to $1.4373 as worries mounted over Prime Minister David Cameron’s ability to keep his Conservative party together and keep Britain in the European Union after Iain Duncan Smith, a leading voice for the UK to exit the EU, resigned from the cabinet late on Friday.

The euro slipped 0.24 percent to trade at $1.124.

(Additional reporting by Dion Rabouin; Editing by Dan Grebler and Bernadette Baum)

China central bank to Federal Reserve: A little help, please?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Confronted with a plunge in its stock markets last year, China’s central bank swiftly reached out to the U.S. Federal Reserve, asking it to share its play book for dealing with Wall Street’s “Black Monday” crash of 1987.

The request came in a July 27 email from a People’s Bank of China official with a subject line: “Your urgent assistance is greatly appreciated!”

In a message to a senior Fed staffer, the PBOC’s New York-based chief representative for the Americas, Song Xiangyan, pointed to the day’s 8.5 percent drop in Chinese stocks and said “my Governor would like to draw from your good experience.”

It is not known whether the PBOC had contacted the Fed to deal with previous incidents of market turmoil. The Chinese central bank and the Fed had no comment when reached by Reuters.

In a Reuters analysis last year, Fed insiders, former Fed employees and economists said that there was no official hotline between the PBOC and the Fed and that the Chinese were often reluctant to engage at international meetings.

The Chinese market crash triggered steep declines across global financial markets and within a few hours the Fed sent China’s central bank a trove of publicly-available documents detailing the U.S. central bank’s actions in 1987.

Fed policymakers started a two-day policy meeting the next day and took note of China’s stock sell-off, according the meeting’s minutes. Several said a Chinese economic slowdown could weigh on America.

Financial market contagion from China was one of the reasons cited by the Fed in September when it put off a rate hike that many analysts had expected, a sign of how important China has become both as an industrial powerhouse and as a financial market.

NO SECRETS

The messages, which Reuters obtained through an Freedom of Information Act request, show how alarmed Beijing has become over the deepening financial turmoil and offer a rare insight into one of the least understood major central banks.

The exchanges also show that while the two central banks have a collegial relationship, they might not share secrets even during a crisis.

“Could you please inform us ASAP about the major measures you took at the time,” Song asked the director of the Fed’s International Finance Division, Steven Kamin in the July 27 email.

The message registered in Kamin’s account just after 11 a.m. in Washington. Kamin quickly replied from his Blackberry: “We’ll try to get you something soon.”

What followed five hours later was a 259-word summary of how the Fed worked to calm markets and prevent a recession after the S&P 500 stock index tumbled 20 percent on Oct. 19, 1987.

Kamin also sent notes to guide PBOC officials through the many dozens of pages of Fed transcripts, statements and reports that were attached to the email.

All of the attached documents had long been available on the Fed’s website and it is unclear if they played a role in shaping Beijing’s actions.

Kamin’s documents detail how the Fed began issuing statements the day after the market crash, known as Black Monday, pledging to supply markets with plenty of cash so they could function.

By the time Song wrote to Kamin, China had spent a month fighting a stock market slide and many of the actions taken by the PBOC and other Chinese authorities shared the contours of the Fed’s 1987 game plan.

DESPERATE MEASURES

The July 27 plunge in the Shanghai Composite Index was the biggest one-day fall since 2007 and by then the market had lost nearly a third of its value over six weeks.

China’s central bank had already cut interest rates on June 27 in similar fashion to the Fed’s swift move to ease short-term rates in 1987.

Song told Kamin the PBOC was particularly interested in the details of the Fed’s use of repurchase agreements to temporarily inject cash into the U.S. banking system in 1987.

The PBOC had increased cash injections in June and ramped up repurchase agreements in August as stocks continued to slide. The PBOC also eased policy on Aug. 11 by allowing a 2 percent devaluation in the yuan currency.

As Song and Kamin exchanged messages on July 27 and 28, other Chinese authorities were busy trying to contain the crash.

China’s securities regulator said on July 27 it was prepared to buy shares to stabilize the stock market and that authorities would deal severely with anyone making “malicious” bets that stocks would fall.

In 1987, the Fed contacted banks directly and encouraged them to meet “legitimate funding needs” of their customers, according to Kamin’s email to Song.

In addition to its pledges and cajoling, the U.S. central bank in 1987 eased collateral restrictions on Wall Street and tried to calm markets by intervening in trading earlier than normal. The U.S. economy continued to grow, eventually entering recession in 1990.

The central bank in Beijing does not have as free a hand to conduct policy as does the Fed, which answers to the U.S. Congress but operates independently from the administration.

The PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan implements policies ultimately decided by political leaders in Beijing and lacks the authority to lead debate or shed light on decision-making.

China’s vice finance minister told Reuters last year Chinese supervisors needed to learn from countries like the United States.

Premier Li Keqiang said last month China’s regulators did not respond sufficiently but China had fended off systemic risks.

U.S. central bankers say their relative transparency helps their effectiveness and legitimacy, but open records laws also make Fed officials cautious about their communications, much of which must be made public when requested. Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer has said transparency makes it harder for policymakers to have informal discussions.

Kamin pointed out in his email that everything he was sending was publicly available.

“I hope this is helpful,” he said.

(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington; Additional reporting by Kevin Yao in Beijing; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

Global stocks post longest streak of gains in two years; dollar firms

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 closed in positive territory for the year for the first time in 2016, leading a gauge of stocks across major markets to a fifth week of gains, its longest weekly run in more than two years.

The dollar, meanwhile, edged up on Friday but ended the week lower against a basket of major currencies, giving a weekly boost to energy and other commodity prices. The U.S. currency fell for a third consecutive week, most recently weighed by the Federal Reserves’ resetting of market expectations on the number of times it will raise rates in 2016.

Oil prices slipped after hitting 2016 peaks.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 closed above the level where it ended last year for the first time. Healthcare and financial sector stocks were among the leaders, a welcome signal of rotation for stock bulls.

With the fear of a U.S. recession mostly in the rear-view mirror, investors want to add to stock exposure and are buying up the year’s worst performers, according to Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.

“You want to see sector rotation into the laggards,” he said, noting that the rise to positive territory for the S&P 500 could mean the five-week stocks rally could lose steam.

“What we’ve seen is enough good news to say we’re not going into recession. This is a short-term top in a longer-term bull market.”

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 120.81 points, or 0.69 percent, to 17,602.3, the S&P 500 gained 8.97 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,049.56 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.66 points, or 0.43 percent, to 4,795.65.

The CBOE Volatility Index a measure of the price traders pay for protection against a slide on the S&P 500, closed at its lowest level since mid-August.

MSCI’s index of stocks in major developed markets gained 1.4 percent this week to end a fifth straight positive week, a streak not seen since February 2014. Stocks in emerging markets jumped 3.2 percent in their third straight weekly advance.

DOLLAR TICKS UP ON SHORT-COVERING

The dollar index bounced back from a five-month low, rising against most major currencies, as traders covered short bets triggered by the Fed’s statement on Wednesday.

The yen gave back 0.2 percent versus the dollar after hitting its strongest since October 2014 on Thursday. The euro slipped 0.4 percent to $1.127.

On Friday, the European Central Bank’s chief economist, Peter Praet, indicated the ECB could further loosen monetary policy.

“It’s been a dizzying selloff for the dollar, so it’s natural that you’re going to get some kind of bounce,” said FX Analytics partner David Gilmore in Essex, Connecticut.

A rising dollar in 2015 weighed on the global economy, and its recent decline has helped push up oil and other commodity prices.

U.S. crude prices slipped after trading above $41 a barrel for the first time since early December as the weekly U.S oil rig count rose for the first time since December. U.S. crude <CLc1> settled up for a fifth straight week.

Brent crude’s front-month contract fell 0.2 percent to $41.47 a barrel after touching a 2016 high of $42.54.

The benchmark U.S. Treasury note rose 7/32 in price to yield 1.8784 percent.

Spot gold closed the week up 0.5 percent after earlier gaining as much as 1.8 percent from last Friday.

Copper posted its highest weekly closing level since October.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos, additional reporting by Dion Rabouin, Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, Barani Krishnan and Laila Kearney; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Dow Jones closes positive for year as commodities rally, dollar dives

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street moved higher on Thursday, pushing the Dow Jones industrial average into positive territory for the year, as commodity prices rose on the back of a weaker U.S. dollar to boost shares in the energy and materials sectors.

The Dow’s move into positive territory came a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve took a dovish stance that weighed on the dollar.

“It was a weak dollar rally,” said John Augustine, chief investment officer at Huntington National Bank. “It took up groups associated with a weaker dollar.”

The top performing sectors in the S&P 500 were materials, industrials and energy.

The rally was a “continued reaction from the Fed’s move,” said David Lefkowitz, senior equities analyst at UBS Americas Wealth Management in New York.

The Fed on Wednesday pointed to moderate U.S. economic growth and strong job gains but cautioned about risks from an uncertain global economy.

The central bank pointed to the possibility of two more rate hikes before the end of the year, having laid out four hikes in 2016 when it raised rates in December.

The Dow and S&P were at their highest since Dec. 31 and the Nasdaq hit its highest since Jan. 7.

For the blue-chip Dow, which includes stocks like GE and Goldman Sachs, the past five weeks’ rally has now clawed back the deep losses that kicked off the year.

Investors’ fears that the U.S. economy could be headed for another recession have faded into the background at least temporarily.

“It’s a pretty equity-friendly backdrop,” Lefkowitz said.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 155.73 points, or 0.9 percent, at 17,481.49. The S&P 500 gained 13.37 points, or 0.66 percent, to 2,040.59 and the Nasdaq Composite added 11.02 points, or 0.23 percent, to 4,774.99.

U.S. crude settled up 4.5 percent at $40.20 a barrel on optimism that major producers will strike an output freeze deal next month amid rising crude exports and gasoline demand in the United States..

Healthcare was the only decliner among the 10 major S&P 500 sectors. It fell 1.05 percent, dragged down by Eli Lilly’s 4.7-percent fall.

Industrials gained 2 percent, propped up by General Electric’s 2.6-percent rise to $30.96. The stock gave the biggest boost to the S&P 500.

FedEx rose 11.8 percent at $161.34 after the package delivery company forecast better-than-expected full-year earnings.

Endo International dropped 12.5 percent at $29.68, after the drugmaker forecast first-quarter results below estimates.

About 8.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, above the 8.02 billion average over the last 20 sessions.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,473 to 595, for a 4.16-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,927 issues rose and 872 fell for a 2.21-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 61 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 73 new highs and 74 new lows.

(Additional reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

S&P 500 closes at 2016 high as Federal Reserve signals fewer rate hikes

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 closed at its highest level of the year on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates untouched and signaled fewer rate hikes in coming months.

The Fed indicated moderate U.S. economic growth and “strong job gains” would allow it to tighten policy this year with fresh projections showing policymakers expected two quarter-point hikes by the year’s end, half the number seen in December.

But the U.S. central bank noted the United States continues to face risks from an uncertain global economy.

Because of that uncertainty, “the committee judged it prudent to maintain the current policy stance at this meeting,” Fed Chair Janet Yellen said.

The decision to keep rates steady was in line with analyst predictions, but the Fed’s tone was surprising to some.

“Most folks were looking for a slightly hawkish statement and they did not deliver in that,” said Tom Porcelli, RBC Capital Markets chief U.S. economist. “It was balanced at best and probably even slightly dovish.”

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 74.23 points, or 0.43 percent, to 17,325.76, the S&P 500 had gained 11.29 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,027.22 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 35.30 points, or 0.75 percent, to 4,763.97.

The CBOE volatility index a gauge of what equity investors are willing to pay for protection against a drop on the S&P 500, closed at its lowest since early December.

Eight of the 10 major S&P sectors closed higher. Materials were up the most at 1.74 percent. Healthcare and financial stocks lagged.

The S&P energy sector rose 1.6 percent as U.S. oil prices jumped almost 6 percent after major producers firmed up plans to discuss an output freeze and U.S. crude stockpiles grew less than expected.

In corporate news, shares of Peabody Energy Corp, the largest U.S. coal producer, fell 45.4 percent to $2.19. after the company said in a regulatory filing it may have to seek bankruptcy protection.

FedEx shares jumped 5.3 percent after markets closed on a strong full-year earnings forecast in its fiscal third-quarter financial results.

LinkedIn fell 4.9 percent at $109.81 and Gap fell 1.4 percent to $29.28 after Morgan Stanley downgraded both stocks.

Mallinckrodt dropped 6.4 percent to $55.69, continuing its slide for a second day, while fellow specialty drugmaker Endo International recouped some of its losses from Tuesday, jumping 4.1 percent to $33.91.

About 7.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, below the 8.1 billion average over the last 20 sessions.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 2,462 to 590, for a 4.17-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,675 issues rose and 1,084 fell for a 1.55-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 38 new highs and 62 new lows.

(Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York and Karen Brettell; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Meredith Mazzilli)

Wall Street dips as healthcare lags before Fed statement

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Healthcare and materials stocks pulled Wall Street lower on Tuesday in a second straight day of quiet trading as investors cautiously awaited news from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.

While the Fed is not expected to raise interest rates at its meeting ending on Wednesday, investors will scour Fed Chair Janet Yellen’s comments for clues indicating a path for future rate hikes.

“We’re on auto pilot until we actually get the results of the Fed meeting tomorrow afternoon,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York. “It’s not unusual to (be in) wait-and-see mode as you head into a big announcement.”

Ahead of the Fed meeting’s outcome, smaller stocks sold off more than bigger ones as investors sought to reduce risk, said Mohannad Aama, managing director of Beam Capital Management LLC in New York.

U.S. retail sales fell less than expected in February, but a sharp downward revision to January’s data could reignite concerns about the economy’s growth prospects.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 22.4 points, or 0.13 percent, at 17,251.53, the S&P 500 lost 3.71 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,015.93 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 21.61 points, or 0.45 percent, to 4,728.67.

Healthcare was the worst-performing sector, dropping 1.6 percent.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc plunged 51.5 percent to $33.51 in its busiest-ever trading day. The Canadian drugmaker cut its 2016 revenue forecast and flagged the risk of defaulting on its debt, eroding investor confidence in the troubled company.

Allergan dropped 3.4 percent to $283. The stock was the biggest drag on the S&P 500.

Materials stocks fell 0.91 percent.

Apple shares climbed 2 percent to $104.58 after Morgan Stanley said March iPhone demand was tracking ahead of expectations. Apple was the biggest boost to the S&P 500.

Mead Johnson rose 11 percent to $83.79 with traders attributing gains to a report that sparked deal chatter.

About 6.5 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, below the 8.2 billion average over the last 20 sessions.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,256 to 787, for a 2.87-to-1 ratio on the downside; on the Nasdaq, 2,114 issues fell and 707 advanced for a 2.99-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq recorded 30 new highs and 44 new lows.

(Additional reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Dan Grebler)

Crude oil drops, dollar gains as markets watch central banks

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Monday as Iran dashed hopes of a coordinated production freeze, while the dollar rose ahead of a policy meeting at the U.S. central bank.

A gauge of stocks across the globe ticked up, with Wall Street weighed by commodity shares as Europe rose partly on a positive view of the auto industry.

Attention switched this week to policy decisions from the Bank of Japan, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, among others. They follow last week’s interest rate cut, asset-purchase program extension and new cheap loans for banks pledge at the European Central Bank.

The Fed, which ends its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, has said it is on track to raise rates gradually in 2016, but doing so will hinge on the health of the economy. Recent data has shown above-forecast jobs creation but wage growth remains a concern.

The euro, which rose last week after ECB President Mario Draghi signaled further rate cuts were unlikely, fell 0.5 percent on Monday to $1.1098. The yen was flat against the greenback while sterling fell 0.6 percent to $1.4302. The dollar index rose 0.5 percent.

“It’s the combination of a market that overextended in the opposite direction because of Draghi’s ‘no more rate cut’ comment and just some corrective natural price action into the risk of (a Fed meeting) that could be a little bit more hawkish,” said Richard Scalone, co-head of foreign exchange at TJM Brokerage in Chicago.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was weighed by declines in basic materials and energy shares as commodity prices fell. As they also wait on the release of economic data, including U.S. retail sales, investors continued to interpret the ECB’s move.

“To me, it’s one of those days were the (stock) market is doing its best to digest some of those factors and to see what’s next,” said Steven Baffico, chief executive officer at Four Wood Capital Partners in New York.

Equity volume on U.S. exchanges was the lightest so far this year.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 15.82 points, or 0.09 percent, to 17,229.13, the S&P 500 lost 2.55 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,019.64 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.81 points, or 0.04 percent, to 4,750.28.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which had climbed 2.7 percent on Friday, ended up 0.67 percent with an index of auto and auto parts shares up 1.56 percent. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across major markets ticked up 0.1 percent. Nikkei futures rose 0.4 percent.

Brent crude oil, whose rise has helped buoy stocks in recent weeks, fell below $40 a barrel, as U.S. crude stockpiles continue to mount and Iran maintained little interest in a global production freeze.

“We feel that the bulk of this stronger than expected 5-6 week price advance has been seen and that prices will be shifting into a near term consolidation phase,” said Jim Ritterbusch of Chicago energy consultancy Ritterbusch & Associates.

Brent last traded at $39.61, down 1.9 percent. U.S. crude fell 3 percent to $37.34 per barrel.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 4/32 in price to yield 1.9627 percent from 1.977 percent on Friday.

Spot gold fell 1.1 percent, last trading at $1,234. Copper dropped 0.3 percent.

(Additional reporting by Laila Kearney, Dion Rabouin, Barani Krishnan and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Meredith Mazzilli)

Wall Street rallies to highest close of 2016

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street rallied on Friday in a delayed response to the European Central Bank’s stimulus measures announced Thursday, while higher oil prices drove up energy shares.

The S&P 500 closed at its highest level of the year and above its 200-day moving average for the first time since Dec. 30.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 218.18 points, or 1.28 percent, to 17,213.31, the S&P 500 gained 32.62 points, or 1.64 percent, to 2,022.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 86.31 points, or 1.85 percent, to 4,748.47.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Wall Street ends flat as European Central Bank disappoints

(Reuters) – U.S. stock indexes ended a volatile session little changed on Thursday after the European Central Bank reduced interest rates but ECB chief Mario Draghi confounded investors who expected multiple rate cuts by saying more were unlikely.

Stocks jumped early in the day after the ECB pushed its deposit rate deeper into negative territory and increased its asset-buying program to 80 billion euros a month from 60 billion in an effort to boost growth in the region.

“The world was really, really happy with this mainly because we’re all addicted to zero interest rates,” said Kim Forrest, research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. “It’s free money.”

When Draghi said future cuts would happen only under extreme circumstances, investors expecting even lower rates switched their strategy to risk off, Forrest said.

At the same time, she said, fears that lower interest rates in Europe would harm U.S. banks and negatively impact exports by leading to euro devaluation weighed on the market further.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.23 points, or 0.03 percent, to 16,995.13, the S&P 500 gained 0.31 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,989.57 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 12.22 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,662.16.

U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected last week to their lowest levels since October, pointing to sustained strength in the labor market that should further dispel fears of a recession.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has said it is on track to raise interest rates gradually this year, but its decision remains data-dependent. The Fed is to meet on March 15-16.

Shares of Dollar General were up 10.7 percent to $83.23 after it reported better-than-expected same-store sales growth. Rival Dollar Tree was up 4 percent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.33-to-1 ratio while on the Nasdaq, a 1.85-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 30 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 52 new highs and 70 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 8.42 billion shares, compared with the 8.54 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

Crude oil prices, a major driver of the market so far this year, delinked from stocks, at least for this session. Brent futures fell more than 2 percent after Reuters reported that a proposed meeting between major oil producers to discuss an output cut was unlikely to take place without Iran’s participation. U.S. crude fell 1 percent.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Oil rally lifts Wall Street again, extending tight correlation

(Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose in low volume on Wednesday, led once more by the direction of the price of oil and energy sector shares.

Crude oil and U.S. equity prices have been linked for much of 2016 to a degree that has surprised many investors. Wednesday’s market action extended that trend, with WTI crude rising nearly 5 percent and the S&P 500 energy sector up 1.5 percent. Chevron jumped 4.6 percent to $92.82 and gave the biggest boost to the energy sector.

“It’s not about oil being a barometer of the global economy,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York. “A lot of it has to do with psychology.”

U.S. crude and the S&P 500 have been directionally correlated on all but six trading days this year, according to Wunderlich data.

“Stability in that asset class (oil) for a period of time will allow for the correlation to break down,” said Hogan.

Since Feb. 11, the S&P 500 has gained 8.8 percent, but it is still down 2.7 percent for the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.26 points, or 0.21 percent, to 17,000.36, the S&P 500 gained 10 points, or 0.51 percent, to 1,989.26 and the Nasdaq Composite added 25.55 points, or 0.55 percent, to 4,674.38.

In a week with a thin economic data calendar, markets will turn to the European Central Bank, which is expected to further ease monetary policy on Thursday.

Biotechnology stocks came under pressure a day after the U.S. government proposed a test program that would lower incentives to use higher-priced drugs when alternative treatments are available.

The Nasdaq Biotechnology sector fell 1.2 percent with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals down 5.1 percent to $374.75 as the largest decliner on the Nasdaq 100.

Chipotle Mexican Grill lost 3.4 percent to $506.63. Already reeling from several food-borne illnesses, the company temporarily shut a Massachusetts restaurant after four employees fell sick.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE on a 2.3-to-1 ratio while on the Nasdaq a 1.50-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 48 new highs and 41 new lows.

About 7.5 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, compared with the average 8.67 billion in the previous 20 sessions.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Nick Zieminski)