It was a breakthrough after a long, indecisive day when stocks started flooding in at the last minute of trade on Monday, and quite a decent amount was gained.
A lot of losses were accounted for last week, making it the worst period for the economy since mid-August, and on Monday, the expectations were not high for the traders who saw a continuation of losses. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index hit a two-month low around midday. However, oil prices were recovered from the last week’s rout, and the broader market ended at peak levels of the day.
Dow Jones industrials average picked up at 0.6 percent (103.29points) up to 17,358.50. S&P.500 gained at 0.5 percent (9.57points) up to 2,021.94. To crown it all, nine out of the 10 of the S&P.500 sector finished higher, although most of the gains were not large. The Nasdaq also gained 0.4 percent (18.76 points) up to 4,952.23 points.
For the first time since 2009, the price of a barrel of oil went under the $35 mark. However, a miracle occurred, and the oil prices were recovered with a two percent increase, breaking the streak of six consecutive losses. The United States crude oil saw a gain of 35 cents to about $37.60 a barrel in New York, while one of the international oil benchmarks, Brent, saw a penny loss to $37.92 a barrel in London. The gains benefited the oil companies much more than any other, with Exxon Mobil having a rise in their shares from $1.69 to $76, Chevron saw a gain in their shares from $2.89 to $89.33.
Natural gases, however, degraded to the lowest level since September 2001, as the warm weather continually decreased the demand for home heating services. Natural gas reduced 9.6cents (4.8 percent) to $1.894 per a thousand cubic feet. This falling created a huge hole in the natural gas companies, as it made business slow or come to a close altogether. The shares of Range Resources reduced 89 cents (3.9 percent) to $21.86. South-western Energy shares also had a fall of 57 cents (9.7 percent) to $5.33.
Stephen Schork, an independent analyst and trader, reassured that prices would recover for the natural gas sector if it gets colder by January, stating, “This weather is going to persist through the rest of this month.” While in other energy trading areas, wholesale gasoline had a decline by 2.6 cents (2 percent) to $1.256 per gallon. Heating oil also lost 1.8 cents (1.6 percent) to $1.128 per gallon.
Dow and DuPoint agreed on Friday to combine into a $130 billion company and split further into three smaller businesses. Dow lost $2.08 (3.9 percent) to $51.29 in its chemical shares, while DuPoint’s shares slid from $2.52 (3.6 percent) to $67.92. Both Dow and DuPoint are leading the way in the mining companies and industrial makers decline. Freeport-McMoRan, the copper mining company, saw a reduction in their shares from 44cents (6.4 percent) to $6.46 due to the reduction in copper prices.
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