The stock market turned higher Wednesday as the price of oil steadied near six-year lows and a report showed that U.S. businesses hired more workers. European markets climbed after weak inflation figures for the region raised speculation of further help from the European Central Bank.
KEEPING SCORE: All three major U.S. indexes climbed 1 per cent or more. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 21 points to 2,023, as of 3:45 p.m. Eastern. The S&P 500, the most widely used benchmark for investments, is heading for its first gain after five straight losses.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2055 points to 17,578, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 53 points to 4,646.
ECONOMY WATCH: U.S. businesses increased hiring last month in the latest sign that the U.S. economy is on steady footing. The payroll processor ADP reported that companies added 241,000 workers in December, up from 227,000 in November.
ONE VIEW: "It's a bit of a bounce," said Jeff Kravetz, regional investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "Some of it is from the ADP report, but it's also a matter of the market getting oversold over the last few days."
Despite turbulent trading over recent weeks, Kravetz expects 2015 to be another solid year for the stock market.
"We're telling our clients not to get caught up in this short-term volatility. Look at the fundamentals: the job market, corporate balance sheets, economic growth. They're very good."
THE FED SPEAKS: Markets didn't react much to the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting. Fed officials discussed various risks to the economy, but concluded that the recent big drop in oil prices was likely to end up boosting growth.
ABROAD: Major markets in Europe also climbed higher for the first time this week. Germany's DAX closed with a gain of 0.5 per cent and France's CAC-40 rose 0.7 per cent. Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.8 per cent.
PRICES: Consumer prices in Europe fell in December for the first time since 2009. The 0.2 per cent drop was mainly the result of falling oil prices, something that could help consumers immediately. But falling prices also increase pressure on the European Central Bank to provide more stimulus for the region's flagging economy. Many analysts expect the bank to announce plans to buy government bonds later this month. After the report on prices came out, the euro slipped to $1.1833 from $1.1890.
CRUDE: The price of oil stabilized near a six-year low. U.S. crude oil rose 72 cents to close at $48.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude has fallen by more than half since June as supplies rose. Lower energy costs are a boon to consumers and businesses, but some see the plunge as a worrying sign of weakness in the global economy.
MOVING: J.C. Penney soared $1.34, or 20 per cent, to $7.89 after the beleaguered retail store posted solid sales late Tuesday. For the nine-week holiday shopping season, the company reported sales growth of 3.7 per cent over the same period in 2013.
BETTER, BUT: Eli Lilly predicted higher revenue and earnings this year as it tries to recover from the loss of patents protecting key drugs. But the forecast fell short of Wall Street's expectations. The company's stock fell 63 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $69.09.
BONDS: U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.96 per cent from 1.94 per cent the day before.
METALS: Precious and industrial metals prices edged lower. Gold fell $8.70 to $1,210.70 an ounce, silver declined nine cents to $15.54 an ounce and copper fell less than a penny to $2.76 a pound.
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