Energy Stocks Lead Markets Higher as Oil Tops $40
Friday morning brought another relatively calm session to Wall Street, as major market benchmarks were generally higher but by modest amounts. Market participants are trying to be patient in seeing whether the recovery from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic will continue or whether a new wave of COVID-19 cases will force people to reassess the trajectory of the disease. Just after 11 a.m. EDT today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was up 146 points to 26,226. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) gained 19 points to 3,135, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) picked up 88 points to 10,031.
Among sectors of the market, energy stocks did the best, with gains between 1% and 2% for sector ETFs focusing on the industry. Some of that rise came from favorable moves in the crude oil market, but a few individual stock names also made news that gave shareholders something to cheer.
Crude oil prices have been extremely volatile in recent months, as coronavirus-inspired business closures sent demand for energy products tumbling. Now, businesses are starting to reopen, and that's helped to bring supply and demand into a better balance. Moreover, efforts from OPEC nations and Russia to curtail productions levels have prevented more gluts of crude on the global market.
Source Fool.com
