US stock indices on Friday nudged higher after energy companies clawed back some of their sharp losses from earlier in the week.
After meandering up and down through the day, the S&P 500 on Friday rose 3.80 points, or 0.16 percent, to end at 2,438.30, rising 0.2 percent from 2,433.15 on June 16.
The Dow Jones industrial average on Friday slipped 2.53 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to close at 21,394.76, up 0.05 percent from a close of 21,384.28 a week earlier, while the NASDAQ composite gained 28.56, or 0.5 percent, to close at 6,265.25, compared with 6,151.76 on June 16.
More than twice as many stocks rose than fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
Energy stocks led the way, and those in the S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent for the largest gain of the 11 sectors that make up the index. Rising prices for oil and natural gas drove the gains.
EQT Corp, a producer of natural gas and crude, had the day’s biggest gain in the S&P 500, jumping US$4.16, or 8 percent, to US$56.19.
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp climbed US$0.88, or 3.8 percent, to US$23.74.
However, Friday’s gains were not enough to keep energy stocks from closing out their worst week in nine months. They had earlier sunk four straight days, as oil dropped to its lowest price since August last year on expectations that the world has more crude supplies than users need. Energy stocks lost 2.9 percent over the course of the week.
What kept broad indices afloat for the week were big gains for healthcare and technology stocks.
Healthcare stocks climbed as the US Senate unveiled its proposal to revamp how Americans get medical care.
Meanwhile, technology companies are forecast to report strong growth in the upcoming earnings season, and Oracle Corp’s profit report on Wednesday sailed past analysts’ expectations.
“In terms of the overall market, what you really worry about with oil is what it does to earnings,” Federated Investors Inc portfolio manager Steve Chiavarone said.
A big pickup in corporate profits has been one of the main reasons for the stock market’s continued climbs this year, and energy companies had been forecast to provide some of the strongest growth this year.
With the price of oil about 15 percent below where it was a year ago, energy companies’ profits might be at risk, but as long as oil’s price can hold close to where it is, “that’s good enough given that there’s corporate profit growth everywhere else,” Chiavarone said.
The biggest decliner in the S&P 500 was Bed Bath & Beyond Inc, which reported weaker-than-expected earnings for last quarter and revenue short of Wall Street forecasts. Its shares fell US$4.09, or 12.1 percent, to US$29.65.
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