Stocks edge higher after 2 days of big losses
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange will get a holiday break Thursday after two days of losses.
NEW YORK — Stocks in the U.S. finished mostly higher Wednesday, a break after two days of steep losses. Technology and internet companies and retailers were responsible for most of the gains.
The gains came from high-growth stocks such as retail and industrial companies, and energy companies benefited as crude oil rose about 2 percent. Smaller and more domestically-focused companies surged. Those sectors have slumped over the last two months. Despite the gains Wednesday, the S&P 500 is down 3.2 percent this week.
Alec Young, managing director of global markets research at FTSE Russell, said the market has tumbled because growth in the global economy and in company profits is slowing down, and investors are worried that the situation will get worse.
Young said Wall Street essentially has a two-item wish list for the holidays: a general trade agreement between the U.S. and China, and a sign the Fed will raise interest rates at a more gradual clip. Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are scheduled to discuss the trade situation at a Group of 20 summit at the end of this month. If those things transpire, he said, the stock market will settle down.
The S&P 500 index rose as much as 1.1 percent in early trading, but finished with a gain of 8.04 points, or 0.3 percent, at 2,649.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.95 points to 24,464.69. The Nasdaq composite climbed 63.43 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,972.25.
Oil prices rebounded as benchmark U.S. crude gained 2.2 percent to $54.63 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard traded in London, rose 1.5 percent to $63.48 a barrel.
Trading was relatively quiet ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. U.S. markets will be closed Thursday and open for a half-day Friday.