Wall Street forges higher despite oil market's glum mood
Buoyant trading in New York saw Wall Street set fresh records on Thursday, with US stocks recording their sixth consecutive positive finish. European markets were mainly in negative territory, however, and oil shares suffered on investor disappointment following an OPEC decision not to deepen cuts in crude output or prolong them past March of next year. Oil futures nose-dived by about $2.50 in New York and London following the decision from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to extend a November agreement meant to keep about two percent of global capacity off the market. "Oil traders reacted to a well-telegraphed, nine-month extension to the current output cuts from OPEC by taking profits," said market analyst Jasper Lawler. OPEC, which pumps about one-third of the world's crude, uses oil production limits as a tool to support price levels and thus protect precious revenues of its 13 members. The somber news on oil markets kept oil shares from participating in Wall Street's latest extended rally, with Chevron falling one percent, ConocoPhillips giving up 3.5 percent and Exxon Mobil shedding 0.7 percent. - Rising because they're rising - The tech-rich Nasdaq jumped 0.7 percent and the broad S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent -- fresh all-time records for both indexes and the 19th new record for the S&P 500 so far in 2017. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent. Karl Haeling of LBBW said investor enthusiasm was feeding on itself. "It sounds a little bit funny but the main reason the market is going up is because it is going up," he said. Electronics retailer Best Buy had a stellar trading day, surging 21.5 percent after posting better-than-expected quarterly results. Other retailers also rose, with Nordstrom adding 1.2 percent and Sears, which recently said it risks going out of business, jumping by 13.5 percent after its first profitable quarter in almost two years. Elsewhere, Europe's main stock markets were unsteady on their feet, unable to match gains across Asia. London, Paris and the EURO STOXX 50 were all flat while Frankfurt gave up a fifth of a point. Many businesses in Frankfurt and Paris were closed in observance of a holiday. Meanwhile, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo all forged higher, continuing Wednesday's positive reaction to signals from the US Federal Reserve that it planned to raise rates "soon" and unwind its massive balance sheet only gradually. - Key figures around 2100 GMT - Oil - Brent North Sea: DOWN $2.50 at $51.46 per barrel Oil - West Texas Intermediate: DOWN $2.46 at $48.90 New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 21,082.95 (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 2,415.07 (close) New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.7 percent at 6,205.26 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.04 percent at 7,517.71 points (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.2 percent at 12,621.72 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.08 percent at 5,337.16 (close) EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 3,584.55 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 19,813.13 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.8 percent at 25,630.78 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4 percent at 3,107.87 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1208 from $1.1216 Dollar/yen: UP at 111.85 yen from 111.52 yen Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2940 from $1.2972 burs-dg/hs
