Global Stocks Steady, Rising Oil Prices Buoy Energy Sector
DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 9:04 AM ET 5/26/2016
Global stocks struggled for momentum Thursday following a two-day rally, even as crude-oil prices climbed above $50 a barrel.
Futures pointed to a 0.1% opening gain for the S&P 500, after the index closed near its highest level this year. Changes in futures don't necessarily reflect market moves after the opening bell.
The Stoxx Europe 600 inched up 0.1% in afternoon trade.
Energy and mining shares were higher as Brent crude oil rose above $50 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since November, supported by signs of declining U.S. production and a slightly weaker dollar.
Brent crude was last up 1.2% at $50.32 a barrel, while WTI crude traded up 1.1% at $50.10.
"Investors will take this as a comfort zone where the benefits [of low oil prices] for consumers are still there, and the stress of producers diminishes," said Christian Gattiker, chief strategist at Julius Baer.
Steep falls in the price of oil earlier in the year to below $30 a barrel raised concerns about the energy sector and its lenders, as well as commodity-dependent economies.
Gains in Europe were capped, however, by falls in the region's banking sector, which had risen nearly 7% in the last two sessions.
Shares in Spain's Banco Popular Español SA dropped over 23% after the lender said it would launch a EUR2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) share sale.
Asian markets were mostly flat despite gains in the energy sector, as investors turned cautious ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Friday.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended 0.1% higher, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1%.
"No one has exact clarity on the Fed," said Mark Harris, head of multi asset at City Financial. "We seem to have rolled from one set of crises to another [this year] and central banks are struggling to deal with these issues," he said.
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan on Wednesday said he would push for the bank to raise rates in the coming months, but not necessarily in June.
"In the near future, unless something changes meaningfully, I'd be advocating taking the next step," Mr. Kaplan said. "There's a cost to running rates this low."
The euro was last up 0.2% against the dollar at $1.1172, while the dollar was down 0.2% against the yen at Yen110.02.
As oil prices gained, the Canadian dollar rose 0.7% against the dollar to $0.7727, while the Norwegian krone gained 0.6% to $0.1208.
--Alison Sider contributed to this article.
Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-26-160904ET
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