S&P 500 Closes Higher, But Rally Stalled as Oil Rebounds
The S&P 500 closed higher on Tuesday (March 17th) as Wall Street continued its momentum from the previous session, as investors continued to monitor developments in the Iran conflict. However, a renewed rise in oil prices kept the stock market rally limited.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 109 points, or 0.2%.
Volatile oil prices and the ongoing impact of the Iran conflict remain key determinants of sentiment. On Tuesday, oil rebounded, with global benchmark Brent rallying about 3% and holding firm above $100 per barrel, rekindling concerns about energy inflation.
Despite oil's rally, the consumer discretionary sector of the S&P 500 actually posted a gain of about 1%, led by Expedia Group and Booking Holdings. Shares of Delta, American, and JetBlue airlines also rallied after issuing strong earnings guidance. However, on a month-to-date basis, this sector is still down more than 2%.
Meanwhile, the energy sector led the index's gains, rising more than 1%, bringing the sector's performance for the month to nearly 5%.
Source: Newsmaker.id
