U.S. stocks zigzag late Friday, but end mostly higher and book weekly gains
U.S. stocks zigzagged Friday to end mostly higher heading into the weekend after reports of a Saudi oil...
U.S. stocks zigzagged Friday to end mostly higher heading into the weekend after reports of a Saudi oil refinery attack pushed elevated crude prices higher. The three major equity also booked another week of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIA,advanced about 153 points, or 0.4%, ending near 34,861 Friday, but was up 0.3% for the week. The S&P 500 indexSPX advanced 0.5% for the session, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, -0.16% fell 0.2%. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.8% and the Nasdaq gained 2%, according to FactSet. Oil prices Brent Crude CL00, +0.25% rebounded Friday after news reports of a missile strike on a Saudi Aramco facility, with the U.S. crude benchmark settling at $113.90 a barrel. Investors also continued to weigh the path higher for policy rates, with New York Federal Reserve President John Williams saying Friday he would support a half-point move if justified but indicated it was premature to make a call on the size of a future rate increase.
U.S., EU strike LNG deal as Europe seeks to cut Russian gas
March 25, From REUTERS, The United States will work to supply 15...
March 25, From REUTERS, The United States will work to supply 15 billion cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the European Union this year to help it wean off Russian energy supplies, the transatlantic partners said on Friday.
The EU is aiming to cut its dependency on Russian gas by two-thirds this year and end all Russian fossil fuel imports by 2027 due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia supplies around 40% of Europe's gas needs.
Concerns over security of supply were reinforced this week after Russia ordered the switch of gas contract payments to roubles, raising the risk of a supply squeeze and even higher prices. read more
MarketWatch: Baker Hughes reports a weekly climb in the U.S. oil-drilling rig count
Baker Hughes ...
Baker Hughes BKR, +1.12% on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil was up by seven to 531 this week. That followed a decline of three oil rigs the week before, Baker Hughes data show. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes those drilling for natural gas, also climbed by seven at 670, according to Baker Hughes. Oil prices continued to edge higher in Friday dealings, as reports of an attack on a Saudi oil facility fed supply concerns. May West Texas Intermediate crude CLK22, 0.61% was up $1.14, or 1%, at $113.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
