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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Wall St. gains as oil rally offsets jobless surge

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Wall St. gains as oil rally offsets jobless surge
Wall St. gains as oil rally offsets jobless surge

Stocks gained ground on Thursday as hopes for a truce between Saudi Arabia and Russia propelled oil prices, taking some attention off a staggering record jump in unemployment claims. Conway G.

Gittens has the numbers.

A volatile day on Wall Street as investors kept an eye on a rally in oil prices and an extraordinary surge in U.S. jobless claims. Crude oil had its biggest one-day gain on record after President Trump hinted the Saudis and the Russians were close to a deal to cut oil production.

A fight between the two major oil producers has caused a crash in oil prices.

Energy stocks led the broader market with Chevron and Exxon Mobil the biggest blue chip gainers.

Looking at the closing numbers: The Dow and the S&P 500 gained more than 2 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 1.7 percent.

An unprecedented 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, which was double the previous record set the week before that.

The two-week total coming in at a staggering 10 million.

Many economists say - with jobless numbers like that - the economy is already in a recession.

Kevin Caron, a senior portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, is dusting off his stock market recession handbook.

SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): KEVIN CARON, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, WASHINGTON CROSSING ADVISORS, SAYING: "What's even more important is to understand that survivability is key.

You want to own companies with low debt, very consistent profitability and businesses that are dependable in the sense that they can hold their head under water longer than other companies, so that they could get through what might be a longer process here.

So we hope for the best but prepare for the worst." Boeing may not fit into that plan.

The company was already struggling before the coronavirus pandemic grounded air travel to a virtual halt and it is warning of tough days ahead.

On Thursday, the aerospace giant offered eligible members of its 150,000 global workforce a voluntary layoff package.

The cost-cutting measure smelled like desperation to investors who sent the stock lower.

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