US close: Wall Street higher as oil prices continue climb
Wall Street finished in the green on Wednesday, after energy shares were given a boost by Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.75% at 24,542.54, the S&P 500 added 0.97% to 2,679.79, and the Nasdaq 100 was 1.14% higher at 6,893.21.
Trump said on Tuesday evening that the US would exit the 2015 multilateral agreement over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and reimpose sanctions on the country.
He said in a statement that it was a "horrible, one-sided deal that should never, ever have been made" and that rather than protecting the US and its allies, it placed "very weak limits on the regime's nuclear activity".
European powers, meanwhile, reiterated their commitment to the 2015 agreement, while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that for now, he considers the deal to be intact.
Although Trump had been widely expected to announce the withdrawal, analysts said the threat that he would also penalise anyone who helps Iran is likely to have a lasting impact on markets.
Oil prices continued to gain on the back of the announcement, with West Texas Intermediate last up 3.1% at $71.27 a barrel, and Brent crude rising 3.27% to $77.38.
“The geopolitical repercussions of this decision will no doubt be widely felt, and due to as many as one million barrels of crude supply per day being effectively taken off the market when these sanctions are enforced, it represents a large supply-side shock for crude and this has driven the price up to its highest level since 2014,” noted David Cheetham, chief market analyst at XTB.
On the macroeconomic front, US wholesale prices rose by less-than-expected in April amid an unexpected drop in food prices.
According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the US producer price index for final demand edged higher by 0.1% month-on-month and 2.6% year-on-year.
Economists had forecast a dip in the year-on-year rate of price gains from the 3.0% observed in the month before to 2.8%.
Elsewhere, wholesale trade continued its 2018 growth streak in March but fell short of analysts' expectations.
The US Census Bureau's wholesale inventories gauge increased 0.3% month-on-month in March, totalling about $627bn, short of consensus forecasts of a 0.5% increase.
In corporate news, stock in TripAdvisor surged 22.8% after better-than-expected earnings late on Tuesday, but energy drinks company Monster Beverage lost 7.48% after its earnings undershot forecasts.
Security giant ADT was down 8.75% after reporting a net loss of $157m, and pizza chain Papa John's dropped 3.71% after it reported a drop in quarterly sales late on Tuesday.
New York-based cosmetics manufacturer Coty picked up gave up earlier gains to finish down 5.6% even after topping earnings expectations, as luxury revenues offset a miss from its consumer beauty business.
Medical diagnostics firm Mylan collected 3.82% after it upped its guidance despite having turned in results that fell short of Wall Street expectations for first-quarter revenues.
Dow Jones - Risers
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $66.03 2.80%
General Electric Co. (GE) $14.63 2.45%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $79.95 2.36%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $113.41 2.18%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $57.95 2.10%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $241.73 2.00%
Boeing Co. (BA) $344.50 1.81%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $152.62 1.79%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $128.72 1.70%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $54.34 1.32%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $83.05 -3.13%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $99.96 -1.79%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.39 -1.38%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $229.22 -1.22%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $67.95 -0.74%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $142.62 -0.42%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $164.24 -0.32%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $41.78 -0.07%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.18 0.54%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $186.34 0.70%
S&P 500 - Risers
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $47.62 22.80%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $13.72 11.27%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $131.01 5.75%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $13.10 5.56%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $19.90 5.46%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $82.43 5.30%
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $109.90 5.12%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $51.01 5.02%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $77.30 4.91%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $34.90 4.33%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Dover Corp. (DOV) $76.89 -17.98%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $49.11 -7.48%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $9.06 -7.36%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $273.25 -3.71%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $41.50 -3.49%
Discovery Inc. Class A (DISCA) $22.28 -3.34%
Discovery Inc. Class C (DISCK) $21.11 -3.30%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $83.05 -3.13%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $43.63 -2.87%
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $65.80 -2.84%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $131.01 5.75%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $51.01 5.02%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $31.12 4.39%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $115.99 4.21%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $199.21 3.89%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $36.72 3.82%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $1,088.95 2.87%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $62.25 2.77%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $1,082.76 2.74%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $262.52 2.51%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $49.11 -7.48%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $29.52 -6.02%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $41.50 -3.49%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $30.34 -2.60%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $325.31 -2.44%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $95.55 -1.11%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $57.04 -1.09%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $137.90 -1.01%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $37.70 -0.76%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $86.68 -0.71%