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Energy, commodities lead market's advance
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NEW YORK - Wall Street closed a quiet session with a moderate advance Thursday, with energy and other commodities companies leading the market as oil prices extended their record-breaking run.
The price of crude oil swept past $124 a barrel in late New York Mercantile Exchange trading, while gasoline rose to a new record at the pump, climbing to a national average of nearly $3.65 a gallon.
Although the rising price of oil ignited concerns about inflation on Wednesday, knocking the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 200 points, stocks managed to hold on to their gains even as oil rose Thursday. Some of the big gainers were companies that would benefit the most from higher commodities prices -- oil companies and metals producers such as Alcoa Inc. -- and they helped lift the major indexes.
Stocks also rose after retailers issued April sales results that, while not strong overall, were less gloomy than expected. The data suggested that high energy costs are leading consumers to alter their spending, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was one of the beneficiaries of that trend. But some apparel stores -- with merchandise that falls into the category of discretionary items -- again saw depressed sales as consumers budgeted more for gasoline and food.
Financial stocks were the worst performers of the day. Philip S. Dow, managing director of equity strategy at RBC Dain Rauscher in Minneapolis, said investors likely are still jittery over the sector, with continued concern about whether the companies have problems on their books beyond subprime mortgages. "Our guess is that the worst is not over for the financials on a fundamentals basis," he said.The Dow rose 52.43, or 0.41 percent, to 12,866.78.
Broader stock indicators turned higher after fluctuating at times during the session. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.11, or 0.37 percent, to 1,397.68, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 12.75, or 0.52 percent, to 2,451.24.
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