Top stock indexes reach new highs
Strong gains by energy companies and retailers helped nudge each of the major U.S. stock indexes to a record high close Thursday, erasing mild losses from the day before.
Investors welcomed some better-than-expected quarterly results from Macy’s and Kohl’s, which spurred gains for several other big retail chains.
Energy stocks led the rally, getting a boost from a surge in oil prices. An industry report released Thursday projected a more even balance in the supply and demand for oil this year.
“It’s been such an oversupplied market for a long period of time, to get that supply-demand closer to being in balance, or to be in balance, is a huge driver,” said David Chalupnik, head of equities for Nuveen Asset Management. “That should at least support the commodity price.”
The Dow Jones industrial average, Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq composite each closed up about 0.1% from their previous record highs, which they reached July 20, last Friday and Tuesday, respectively.
The latest market milestones reflect investors’ recently improved confidence in the U.S. economy.
Still, overall earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to be down 2.2% for the second quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Traders bid up oil prices in response to the International Energy Agency’s latest forecast. In addition to predicting more balanced supply and demand for the rest of this year, it projected that global oil demand won’t grow as much as it previously expected next year, citing a weaker global economy.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.78, or 4.3%, to $43.49 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price international oils, climbed $1.99, or 4.3%, to $46.04. Several oil and gas companies got a boost from the rise in crude prices.
Retailers also posted strong gains after earnings reports from Macy’s and Kohl’s. Macy’s stock leaped 17.1% to $39.81. Kohl’s jumped 16.2% to $44.19. Nordstrom climbed 7.5% to $47.56. J.C. Penney rose 8.6% to $9.94.
Not all companies had favorable quarterly results. Hamburger chain Shake Shack slid 6.2% to $38.34 after it said sales at older locations slowed last quarter.
Wholesale gasoline rose 6 cents to $1.36 a gallon. Heating oil rose 6 cents to $1.38 a gallon. Natural gas fell 1 cent to $2.55 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold fell 0.1% to $1,342.50 an ounce. Silver fell 0.7% to $20.02 an ounce. Copper rose 0.9% to $2.19 a pound.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.56% from 1.50%. The dollar strengthened to 101.93 yen from 101.29 yen. The euro weakened to $1.1141 from $1.1175.