Stocks Move Higher On Oil’s Slide

Rightfully so, most consumers of media, as well as investors, were focused Friday on the horrendous events in Japan, which continued to play out with massive recovery efforts and tsunami watches on the western U.S. On the financial market side of things, however, stocks managed to rebound in a way they couldn’t on Thursday, as oil prices slipped for a second straight day. More importantly, perhaps, equities were able to re-capture technically significant levels of 12,000 on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 1300 on the S&P 500. The Dow rose 60 points to 12,044, the Nasdaq gained 15 points to 2716 and the S&P 500 added 9 points to 1304. That the market pushed higher on Friday wasn’t a certainty, however. Stocks began the session lower, in part as a reaction to the developments in Japan — with the S&P 500 even falling below 1290 — before the retreat in oil prices became just too compelling for stocks to not rise higher. Oil finished down 1.5% to just above $101 — close enough to $100 to be a cruel reminder that oil prices have now been in triple digits for six trading sessions in a row. The usual suspects exploited lower oil prices, with airlines continuing to get off the mat — the Dow Jones U.S. Airlines Index has climbed about 10% in a week. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV ) gained 1.8% on Friday. Precious and nonprecious metal miners also rode higher on lower oil prices. Gold and silver prices both finished higher. Heading into next week, little seems settled for investors, who can’t exactly yet boast confidently that oil prices have peaked in the near term, or, for that matter that Dow 12,000 has been eclipsed for good. Friday provided a devastating diversion, and the momentum of stocks is just as unsettled.
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