Oil prices rebound, banks rise: US stocks higher midday

Oil prices make strong rebound Friday morning

A strong rebound in oil prices and an encouraging report on retail sales helped lift the U.S. stock market in afternoon trading Friday, putting it on course for its first gain in a week. Financial and energy companies were among the biggest gainers. Oil was up more than 11 per cent.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 226 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 15,887 as of 1:54 p.m. Eastern Time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 24 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 1,853. The Nasdaq composite added 42 points, or 1 per cent, to 4,309.

THE QUOTE: “Oil, which has been one of the most fickle, most volatile series that everybody’s watching, is having a nice day,” said Tim Dreiling, regional investment director for The Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank. “Europe is continuing to look good. And it looked like (the market) was oversold.”

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was up $3, or 11.4 per cent, to $29.21 a barrel in electronic trading in New York. The contract tumbled to $26.21 on Thursday, its lowest level since May 2003. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, gained $2.63, or 8.7 per cent, to $32.69 a barrel in London.

PUMPED UP: Marathon oil climbed 4.6 per cent as the price of crude oil rebounded. The stock was the best performer in the energy sector, adding 33 cents to $7.34.

GOOD BET: Wynn Resorts surged 11.8 per cent after the casino operator reported better-than-expected quarterly results Thursday. The stock gained $7.03 to $66.72.

BANK REBOUND: Several banking stocks bounced back from a sector-wide slide on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase climbed $3.98, or 7.5 per cent, to $57.05, while Citigroup added $2.24, or 6.4 per cent, to $37.22. Bank of America rose 65 cents, or 5.8 per cent, to $11.81.

BUYBACK BOOST: Deutsche Bank AG surged 11 per cent after the bank offered to buy back more than $5 billion in bonds in a display of financial strength. The stock gained $1.71 to $17.22.

GOOD DEAL: Groupon vaulted 29 per cent after the online daily deal service’s latest quarterly profit and revenue topped Wall Street estimates. The stock added 65 cents to $2.89.

VISA EFFECT: Investors bid up shares in Square after Visa disclosed an ownership stake of almost 10 per cent in the mobile payment services company. Square rose 35 cents, or 4 per cent, to $8.97.

NO JOY: Activision Blizzard slid 8.9 per cent after the video game company’ reported weaker-than-anticipated quarterly revenue Thursday. The stock was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500 index, losing $2.71 to $27.81.

BAD TUNE: Pandora Media slumped 16.5 per cent after the Internet radio company’s fourth-quarter profit fell short of estimates and the company didn’t comment on rumours that it’s looking to sell itself. The stock lost $1.50 to $7.59.

ROCKY ROAD: The stock market ended lower in the five days leading up to Friday. Global stocks have been in a slump since the beginning of the year on concerns that growth in China, which has been the engine of the global economy in recent years, is slowing far faster than expected. Plunging oil prices and low inflation have added to the market’s jitters that the global economy is sputtering.

GOING SHOPPING: The Commerce Department said that retail sales increased a seasonally-adjusted 0.2 per cent in January, the same as the previous month. The modest gain is evidence that consumers kept shopping despite sharp drops in stock prices, and it was better than the 0.1 per cent economists expected. Excluding the effect of falling gas prices, sales rose 0.4 per cent.

OVERSEAS MARKETS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX was up 2.5 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 was up 2.5 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 3.1 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s main stock index fell sharply, leading other Asian markets lower. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 plunged 4.8 per cent after earlier sinking as much as 5.3 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.2 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi gave up 1.4 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.2 per cent. Shares in New Zealand and Southeast Asia also fell. Markets in China and Taiwan were closed all week for Lunar New Year holidays and will reopen on Monday.

BONDS AND CURRENCIES: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.75 per cent from 1.66 per cent late Thursday. In currency markets, the dollar rose to 113.45 yen from 112.27, while the euro fell to $1.1243 from $1.1330.

The Canadian Press