Wall Street higher as crude oil prices rebound, U.S. final Q3 GDP up 2.0%
Wall Street was higher on Tuesday morning as crude oil prices recovered from multi-year lows and data showed that the U.S. economy grew at a healthy clip in the third quarter.
Brent crude rose slightly a day after it slid to its lowest since mid-2004, but gains were limited due to global oversupply concerns and tepid demand for heating oil in what is likely to be the warmest winter on record.
The S&P energy sector was up 1.58 percent, leading the 10 major sectors on the index. Chevron shares were up 1.7 percent at $90.74 and gave the biggest boost to the S&P.
Trading volumes are expected to be relatively light this week, with U.S. stock markets operating a shortened session on Thursday and closing on Friday for Christmas.
“I think the main thing that markets are going to be looking at today is the whole deal with oil,” said Matthew Tuttle, chief executive, Tuttle Tactical Management in Stamford, Connecticut.
The U.S. Commerce Department trimmed its third-quarter GDP growth to an annual rate of 2 percent from the 2.1 percent it reported last month. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP growth revised down to a 1.9 percent rate.
At 10:59 a.m. ET (1559 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 37.52 points, or 0.22 percent, at 17,289.14, the S&P 500 was up 4.27 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,025.42 and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 1.53 points, or 0.03 percent, at 4,970.46.
“It feels like there’s not a whole lot going on today in the world of trading,” said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst, Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
Forrest said energy and materials stocks were most likely higher due to bargain hunting.
Chipotle Mexican Grill was down 3.9 percent at $501.50 after Federal authorities said they were investigating a new strain of E. coli linked to the burrito chain.
