Stocks regain ground as price of oil recovers

Energy firms get a boost and Verizon’s earnings lift the telecom sector.

Stocks rose Thursday and recovered some of their steep losses from the day before. The price of oil also recovered from a big decline. That lifted energy firms, which have been struggling as energy prices have fallen.

European markets also rose on hopes that the European Central Bank will do more to help the region’s economy.

In the U.S., energy stocks climbed as oil prices bounced back from their worst day in four months, and strong earnings from Verizon lifted telecom stocks. Blue-chip stocks did better than the rest of the market. The Dow Jones industrial average had its second-best day of 2016.

The Dow climbed 115.94 points, or 0.7%, to 15,882.68. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9.66 points, or 0.5%, to 1,868.99. The Nasdaq composite index added less than half a point, closing at 4,472.06.

Earlier in the day, stocks were on pace for much larger gains. The Dow was up 272 points shortly after noon.

U.S. crude rose $1.18, or 4.2%, to close at $29.53 a barrel. On Wednesday, it had taken its biggest one-day loss since September. Brent crude rose $1.37, or 4.9%, to $29.25 a barrel in London.

Energy stocks have crumbled as the price of oil has fallen from $100 a barrel in mid-2014.

Natural gas company Southwestern Energy jumped after saying it would eliminate around 1,100 jobs, or 44% of its workforce, in the next few months. Its shares went up $1.42, or 19.2%, to $8.80. Coal and natural gas company Consol Energy surged 97 cents, or 19.1%, to $6.04. Pipeline company Kinder Morgan rose $1.87, or 15.6%, to $13.88.

Consol and Southwestern were the second- and third-worst performing S&P 500 stocks in 2015.

European Central Bank head Mario Draghi said the ECB will consider using more stimulus measures at its next meeting in March as it tries to bolster the European economy. The prospect sent the euro down to $1.0875 from $1.0894 late Wednesday.

David Lefkowitz, senior equity strategist at UBS Wealth Management, thinks the market could get another lift next week if the Federal Reserve acknowledges the markets’ turbulent state at its January meeting.

“At least one of the major central banks is willing to be … more pragmatic,” Lefkowitz said.

Telecom stocks rose after Verizon, the largest U.S. cellphone carrier, posted a fourth-quarter profit and said it held on to more customers. Its shares climbed $1.45, or 3.3%, to $45.87. AT&T shares rose 64 cents, or 1.9%, to $34.54.

Consumer stocks also gained ground. Wal-Mart rose $1.04, or 1.7%, to $61.88. It’s the only Dow component that has risen this year to date, though it’s up only 1%. Department store operator Nordstrom picked up $1.64, or 3.6%, to close at $47.74, and Home Depot went up $3.76, or 3.2%, to $120.22.

Union Pacific’s fourthquarter profit and revenue fell far short of Wall Street estimates. Chief Executive Lance Fritz said the uncertainty in energy and commodity markets and the strong U.S. dollar will continue to affect the railroad’s business this year. The stock sank $2.61, or 3.5%, to $71.

Heating oil climbed 3.2 cents, or 3.7%, to 89.8 cents a gallon as a winter storm bore down on the East Coast. Wholesale gasoline rose 1.4 cents to $1.031 a gallon. Natural gas picked up 2 cents to $2.138 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold fell $8 to $1,098.20 an ounce, and silver declined 6.6 cents to $14.094 an ounce. Copper rose 3.7 cents, or 1.9%, to $1.997 a pound.

The dollar rose to 117.50 yen from 116.78 yen. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.03% from 1.98%.