Oil-linked stocks gain in mixed Wall Street session
Petroleum-linked shares rallied on Friday with oil prices, as US stocks closed out a lacklustre week with a mixed session. The gains by producers like Chevron and Halliburton, as well as other oil services companies, came after Russia announced it would trim production by 500,000 barrels per day in March after Western countries imposed a price cap over the Ukraine conflict. The rally in energy stocks helped lift both the Dow and S&P 500 to positive sessions even as higher Treasury bond yields weighed on the Nasdaq. The Dow Jones finished at 33,869, up 0.5 percent. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2 percent to 4,090, while the Nasdaq declined 0.6 percent to 11,718. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said investors are in "wait and see" mode ahead of next week's consumer price index report, which will influence the outlook for future Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. All three major indices finished with losses for the week in a pullback after a torrid January as Treasury yields advanced. Among individual companies, ride-hailing firm Lyft plunged more than 36 percent after reporting a US$568.1 million loss in the fourth quarter and projecting lower first quarter revenues than expected. Expedia dropped 8.6 percent as it reported quarterly earnings that missed estimates after hurricanes and winter storms drove up cancellations, crimping revenues. (AFP)