Markets advance after oil producers fail to agree on output freeze

US stocks closed higher on Monday recovering from earlier losses following a drop in oil as major producers failed to reach an agreement to freeze output in Qatar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to close at 18004.16. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% and settled at 2094.34. All of the 10 main sectors of the broad market index closed in positive territory, led by a 1.6% gain in energy sector which rebounded after a 1.3% drop. The dollar weakened, the live dollar index data indicate the ICE US Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar’s value against a basket of six major currencies, slipped 0.2% to 94.442. Better than expected earnings reports helped buoy market sentiment: toy maker Hasbro’s shares rallied 5.8% on better-than-expected profit and revenues, Walt Disney shares gained 2.9% after “Jungle Book" grossed more than $100 million box office take. However Morgan Stanley shares declined 0.1% after it announced better than expected earnings per share of 55 cents but lower revenues, IBM lost 0.8% after its first-quarter report while Apple fell 2.2%. In economic data the home builders’ index for April released by the National Association of Home Builders remained at 58 for the third straight month. A reading above 50 signals improving conditions in the housing sector. Today at 14:30 CET March Housing Starts and Building Permits will be released in US. While the housing starts are expected to decline, the building permits are forecast to rise.
European stocks ended higher on Monday erasing earlier losses from sharply lower oil prices after talks in Qatar didn’t result in an agreement to cap oil output. The euro strengthened, rising to $1.1311 late Monday in New York compared with $1.1282 late Friday. The Stoxx Europe 600 closed up 0.4% as oil prices started to recover. Germany's DAX 30 rose 0.7% closing at 10120.31 helped by 2.6% and 1.6% gains in automakers BMW and Daimler AG respectively. France's CAC 40 added 0.3%, UK’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.2%. At 11:00 today April ZEW Economic Sentiment for Germany and euro-zone will be published. The tentative outlook is positive for euro.
Stocks in Asian markets are rising today with Japan’s Nikkei rallying 3.7% as yen weakened after investors’ risk appetite recovered following a rebound in oil prices. Exporter stocks erased most of previous day’s steep losses: Toyota Motor advanced 3.9% after a 4.8% decline on Monday, Sony gained 6.5% following an 6.8% drop the previous day.
Oil futures prices are rising today as output in Kuwait fell to 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) on Sunday from 2.8 million bpd as thousands of workers went on strike. Oil prices closed lower on Monday after major producers failed to agree on an output freeze at Sunday meeting in Qatar as Saudi Arabia insisted that Iran also agree to cap its oil production. Iran has repeatedly rejected that suggestion indicating it wants to return its production to pre-sanction levels before talks of any output freeze. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 1.4% and settled at $39.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday while Brent crude closed down 0.4% to $42.91 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. Investors are concerned about the failure to freeze the output at January levels by producers who account for half of world output on the backdrop of continued oversupply. Morgan Stanley investment bank warns about possible battle for oil market share after the meeting as Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said if the country wanted it could unleash a million barrels of oil a day on the market.