Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
NIKKEI	Nikkei 225 Index	17221.83		+315.29	1.86%
HSI	Hang Seng Index	21236.31	---
ASX 200	S& P/ASX 200	5260.80		+44.85	0.86%
SHANGHAI	Shanghai Composite Index	2972.56
KOSPI	KOSPI Index	2012.62		+6.79	0.34%
CNBC 100	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	6442.04		+28.04	0.44%

Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
DJIA	Dow Jones Industrial Average	18096.27		42.67	0.24%
S& P 500	S& P 500 Index	2102.40		1.60	0.08%
NASDAQ	Nasdaq Composite Index	4948.13		7.80	0.16%

 

Dow closes at highest since July 2015

U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday but well off session highs as declines in consumer staples and utilities weighed.

" You' re running into a lot of resistance here. We did not sell off on the decline in oil prices. Now we rally on the rise in oil prices. A lot of confusion, I have to say," said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group. He also noted the afternoon strength in the US dollar may also have pressured stocks.

US crude oil futures for May delivery settled up $ 1.55, or 3.77 percent, at $ 42.63 a barrel, for its highest close of the year so far. After the settle, the contract rolled to June, which settled up 4.03 percent at $ 44.18 a barrel.

Stocks are rising with " people putting money to work during earnings season, continued short covering and more of a risk-on sentiment around the world right now," said Peter Coleman, head trader at Convergex. He noted some support for stocks from the rise in oil prices, but pointed out the correlation has declined recently.

" I think it was a combination of stronger equity markets and higher oil prices," said Sharon Stark, fixed income strategist at D.A. Davidson.

WTI pared losses and turned higher as oil prices found support from a late-morning Bloomberg report, citing Iraq, that OPEC and other producers would possibly meet in Russia in May to discuss an output freeze proposal. Bloomberg later reported that Russia said there was no agreement on a meeting.

Traders also attributed oil' s gains to the EIA' s mid-morning report that raised expectations of curbing oversupply with a decline in US production and a lower-than-forecast crude inventory build of 2.1 million barrels. Volatility around the post-settle contract rollover was also a factor.

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Volume:	1,113.9M
Value:	$1,057.9M
Gainers/Losers:	169/245

Symbol	Name	Price		Change	%Change
NIKKEI	Nikkei 225 Index	17018.42		+143.98	0.85%
HSI	Hang Seng Index	21436.21	---	UNCH	0%
ASX 200	S& P/ASX 200	5222.70		+33.89	0.65%
SHANGHAI	Shanghai Composite Index	3042.82	---	UNCH	0%
KOSPI	KOSPI Index	2021.10		9.74	0.48%
CNBC 100	CNBC 100 ASIA IDX	6443.65		+20.38	0.32%