S&P500 Index Holds Higher as Crude Oil Nears $52

New York (Oct 19)  Stocks held higher on Wednesday after a weekly decline in crude inventories supported oil near $52 a barrel.

The S&P 500 was up 0.26%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.36%, and the Nasdaq fluctuated around the flatline.

Crude oil prices jumped on Wednesday on signs of falling domestic production. A weekly reading on domestic inventories from the Energy Information Administration showed a decline of 5.2 million barrels. Inventories have fallen six times in the past seven weeks. A separate reading from the American Petroleum Institute showed a decline of 3.8 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 14.

China's crude production fell 9.8% to 3.89 million barrels per day in September, its second-largest year-on-year drop ever. Current levels are at their lowest in six years. Low crude prices have driven many Chinese producers to lower production.

Upbeat comments from Saudi Arabia, one of the largest producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, also boosted prices. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that oil has reached the end of a downturn and that supply-demand forces were beginning to rebalance. al-Falih also called on non-OPEC producers to help to limit production as OPEC does their part.

West Texas Intermediate crude was oil up 2.9% to $51.69 a barrel on Wednesday.

The energy sector was the top performer on Wall Street Wednesday, led by Halliburton (HAL)  which swung to an unexpected quarterly profit. The oil-services company earned an adjusted 1 cent a share over the quarter, up from a loss of 6 cents a share in the year-ago quarter and better than an estimated loss of 6 cents a share. Halliburton said it remains "cautious around fourth quarter customer activity due to holiday and seasonal weather-related downtimes."

Source: TheStreet