World markets moved higher on Wednesday, November 22, 2018, as U.S. stocks recovered from a sharp two-day drop and crude prices bounced on signs that demand for gasoline and diesel remained solid.
In New York, the S&P 500 finished in positive territory after sliding 3.5 percent across the previous two sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was nearly unchanged in thin holiday-week trading, while the Nasdaq Composite outperformed on strength in technology names.
Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc each climbed more than 1 percent. Energy shares also firmed as oil prices recovered from Tuesday’s slump to one-year lows.
John Carey, managing director and portfolio manager at Amundi Pioneer Asset Management in Boston, said the move was a measured attempt to recover lost ground. “It’s a cautious, measured recovery to recapture some of the lost share price from the past few days,” he said.
Carey added that the oil rebound was helping cyclical stocks, especially energy and materials. Chad Morganlander, senior portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors in Florham Park, New Jersey, said U.S. equities were also drawing support from speculation that the Federal Reserve could slow its pace of interest-rate increases.
A report from MNI suggested the Fed could pause its hiking cycle as early as spring 2019. That prospect, together with the oil move, helped steady sentiment after the earlier selloff.
U.S. stock and bond markets were due to close on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and reopen for a half-day session on Friday.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen 0.95 points to 24,464.69. The S&P 500 rose 8.04 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,649.93, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 63.43 points, or 0.92 percent, to 6,972.25.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe added 0.38 percent.
Oil also finished firmer. Brent crude futures settled up 95 cents, or 1.52 percent, at $63.48 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures rose $1.20, or 2.25 percent, to $54.63 a barrel.
In currency trading, the euro strengthened on hopes that Italy’s budget dispute could be resolved, even as the European Commission took its first step toward disciplining Italy over its deficit. Morganlander said the dispute mattered beyond Europe. “Any type of hostility amongst the (European) Union has major implications not only on the European financial system but also the global financial system,” he said. “This is maybe pushing away some uncertainty, but it’s too soon to tell.”
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, slipped 0.1 percent after rising in Tuesday’s risk-off session. In U.S. Treasuries, benchmark 10-year notes fell 5/32 in price to yield 3.0646 percent, compared with 3.048 percent late on Tuesday.
Reporting by April Joyner; additional reporting by Sujata Rao in London and Shinichi Saoshiro in Tokyo; editing by Nick Zieminski and Leslie Adler.
Source publication date: November 22, 2018.
