Stocks end losing streak as oil prices jump
U.S. stocks rebounded from a punishing week, buoyed by a jump in oil prices and data showing that American consumers continue to spend at a healthy clip.
Ending a five-day slide, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (JPM) surged 313 points, or 2 percent, to finish the week at 15,974, with bank shares leading blue-chip gains. The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 36 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,865. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) rose 71 points, or 1.7 percent, to 4,338.
U.S. retail sales rose in January for a third monthly increase as labor-market gains and sliding gasoline costs helped in loosening purse strings following a slowdown in the last quarter of 2015.
The Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent last month, the same as in December, which was revised higher from an initial estimated 0.1 percent drop. Excluding the effect of falling gas prices, sales rose 0.4 percent.
Separately, a preliminary index from the University of Michigan had consumer sentiment declining to a four-month low, with Wall Street losses and a slowing global economy hitting Americans' perceptions.
Prices of U.S. crude rallied off a 12-year low, surging nearly 10 percent in the wake of statements from the United Arab Emirates' energy minister indicating OPEC would discuss reduced production. Oil futures were lately up $2.81 at $29.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) jumped more than 8 percent following news that CEO Jamie Dimon had spent a year's salary to purchase shares of his bank. Dimon spent $26.6 million to buy 500,000 shares, bring his total to 6.75 million shares, according to a regulatory filing.
Financial markets have slumped amid growing concerns about global economic growth. "February has been uniformly dismal in terms of data releases across the major economies, which has intensified fears that the gradual global growth recovery is already losing steam," Barclays analysts said in a client note.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen stoked that anxiety earlier this week in telling lawmakers that turbulence in China and other parts of the world could hurt the U.S.
But Yellen also continued to express confidence that the American economy would accelerate, highlighting what she called "strong gains" in the labor market. The nation's unemployment rate is 4.9 percent, its lowest level since November 2007.