US stocks closed higher today, fuelled by gains in oil companies and speculation that upcoming first-quarter earnings reports might not be quite as weak as previously thought.
All 10 major S&P 500 sectors gained, with the energy index leading, up 2.3 percent. US crude jumped more than 5 percent after a lower-than-expected build of US crude stockpiles.
Intel jumped 4.25 percent to $32.83 after the chipmaker said late on Tuesday it expects flat revenue for the entire year despite some weakness in the first quarter.
Investors have feared the March-quarter earnings season, just getting under way, would be crippled by low oil prices, a strong dollar and extreme weather in the eastern United States. First-quarter profits for S&P 500 companies are seen dropping 2.6 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.
US shares also benefited after the European Central Bank said it remained committed to its full asset-buying program to revive the euro zone economy.
The strong dollar hurts US companies dependent on overseas sales, while slumping oil prices erode the profits of energy companies.
But many industrial and transportation companies benefit from cheap oil and its derivatives. Delta Air Lines posted first-quarter profit above analysts’ expectations and its stock rose 2.60 percent to end at $44.20.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 75.91 points, or 0.42 percent, to close at 18,112.61. The S&P 500 gained 10.79 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,106.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 33.73 points, or 0.68 percent, to end the day at 5,011.02.
In Europe, stocks rallied with one regional benchmark hitting a level not seen since late 2000, after the European Central Bank said it remained committed to its full asset-buying programme to revive the euro zone economy.
Last month, the ECB embarked on a money-printing programme, which it has said will last until at least September 2016. The plan has helped fuel a sharp rally in European stocks while pushing the euro lower, a boon for European exporters.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 0.6 percent higher at 1,650.15 points, after hitting 1,653.85 points, a level not seen for almost 15 years.
The index has surged 21 percent this year, strongly outpacing Wall Street, as investors bet the ECB programme will support the region’s economic recovery and that corporate profits will rise.
Around Europe, UK’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.3 percent, Germany’s DAX index 0.03 percent, and France’s CAC 40 0.7 percent.
On the downside, shares in France’s Alcatel-Lucent lost 15.5 percent, reversing Tuesday’s sharp rally as Nokia gave details of its all-share takeover offer, which values Alcatel at 15.6 billion euros.
Shares in resource-related companies rallied, bouncing from a recent drop, after Chinese figures came out in-line with expectations.
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