New York, August 20: US stocks recovered from early losses, buoyed by an oil price rally after a sharp drop in US crude reserves suggested revived demand in the recession-stricken economy.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 61.22 points (0.66 per cent) to 9,279.16 in closing trades while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite climbed 13.32 points (0.68 per cent) to 1,969.24.
The broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 6.79 points (0.69 per cent) to a provisional close of 996.46.
Stocks came under pressure in early trading yesterday as a broad-based decline in Asia — Chinese shares slumped into a so-called bear market — stymied Wall Street sentiment, analysts at Charles Schwab & Co said.
The heavy selling of Chinese shares in Shanghai was sparked by concern that the market was overheating and had steamed too far ahead of the country’s economic reality.
But US stocks moved into positive territory after oil prices shot up on fresh government data showing depleting oil stockpiles that lifted market sentiment, dealers said.
Energy shares jumped out to a strong gain “following bullish weekly oil inventory data, which sent oil futures prices sharply higher,” said analysts at Briefing.com in a client note.
—Agencies