Wall Street got a boost from a batch of corporate earnings and June contracts for crude oil on Wednesday, with all three benchmarks closing in positive territory. The West Texas Intermediate contract for June jumped 19% during Wednesday's trading session, erasing earlier declines from the commodity's crash on Monday as well as lifting oil stocks. Solid corporate earnings from companies like Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) and Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) also gave more positive sentiment to market participants. In addition, the new stimulus bill that was passed after market close on Tuesday also led to more money being move back into stocks as investors were encouraged by more economic relief on the way.
Here's how the market closed at mid-week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +2.29% or +62.75 points to 2,799.31
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +1.99% or +456.94 points to 23,475.82
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +2.81% or +232.15 points to 8,495.38
In Major Stock News, shares of L Brands (NYSE: LB) fell and were briefly halted trading on Wednesday, due to a Bloomberg report that private equity firm Sycamore would terminated its February deal to buy Victoria's Secret. Energy Stocks-- Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX)--all gained as the energy sector benefitted from more positive news surrounding oil futures. Chipotle soared after posting earnings that topped market expectations. Snapchat also increased as their first quarter earnings show a boost in daily users due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In Stock Sector News, every sector gained during Wednesday's market rally. The performance increases were as follows: Information Technology +3.87%, Energy +3.58%, utilities +2.95%, Communication Services +2.39%, Materials +2.13%, Consumer Discretionary +2.03%, Real Estate +1.91%, Health Care +1.60%, Industrials +1.15%, Financials +1.09% and Consumer Staples +1.08%.
In Commodity and Currency News, crude prices rose on Wednesday, although oil prices still remain low due to low demand. West Texas Intermediate (NYSE: USO) increased over 24% to close at $14.43 per barrel, while Brent Crude (NYSE: BNO) settled up +5.38% to $20.37 per barrel. Gold (NYSE: GLD) prices increase +2.86% to $1,736 per ounce on Wednesday. Finally, the U.S. Dollar (NYSE: UUP) gained in value, with the DXY up +0.14%.
For Thursday, market participants will focus on weekly jobless claims report, as well as another round of corporate earnings including Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV).