Stocks end mostly lower

Bond market takes heavy losses while banks, energy post gains

Stocks moved mostly lower Wednesday as gains in blue-chip energy companies and banks were not enough to make up for losses in the broader market.

The bond market took heavy losses, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rising to its highest level in a year and a half. The higher yields sent bond substitutes such as utilities, telecommunications and real estate stocks sharply lower.

Oil stocks climbed after OPEC nations, which collectively produce more than onethird of the world’s oil, agreed to trim production for the first time in eight years.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 5.85 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,198.81 and the Nasdaq composite dropped 56.24 points, or 1.1 points, to 5,323.68.

The 30-member Dow Jones industrial average closed up 1.98 points, or 0.01 percent, to 19,123.58. The gain was attributable to big increases in a handful of Dow components, mainly Goldman Sachs, Chevron and DuPont.

The bond and energy markets saw the most drama Wednesday. Bond prices fell sharply yet again and the 10-year note’s yield rose to 2.38 percent from 2.29 percent on Tuesday, a major move for that market. That yield is now trading at its highest level since July 2015.

In energy, OPEC members finalized a deal that will cut their oil output by 1.2 million barrels a day starting in January. Preliminary terms of the deal were announced in September. The price of U.S. crude surged $4.21, or 9.3 percent, to close at $49.44 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained $4.09, or 8.8 percent, to $50.47 a barrel in London.

Higher oil prices mean more revenue for companies that extract or sell oil, and energy companies made big gains Wednesday. Exxon Mobil picked up $1.40, or 1.6 percent, to $87.30 and Chevron rose $2.22, or 2 percent, to $111.56.

More specialized oil companies, particularly drillers and oil exploration companies and companies who support drillers, soared. Marathon Oil leaped $3.11, or 20.1 percent, to $18.06. Ocean rig operator Transocean jumped $1.88, or 17 percent, to $12.90.

Goldman Sachs rose $7.54, or 3.6 percent, to $219.29 and JPMorgan Chase added $1.25, or 1.6 percent, to $80.17.