Stocks reversed course on Thursday, gaining back half of Wednesday’s selloff, as most things that happened on Wednesday didn’t on Thursday.
In other words, the recent volatility continued on Thursday — only this time with the dollar selling off, and most assets moving higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 66 points to 12,696, the Nasdaq rose 18 points to 2863 and the S&P 500 added 7 points to 1349.
Crude oil bounced back 0.8% to nearly $99 a barrel, although it’s worth noting that the price has not ended below $100 for two straight days since February.
The precious metal trade was a little more nuanced. Both gold and silver had sold off overnight as the dollar rallied, but made a run higher as the dollar started to fall. Gold ended up higher by a fraction while silver was still tagged with a loss of 1.5%.
Small-caps, as has been the norm when commodities are driving the action in equities and investors seek for hidden materials plays, were outliers again. The Russell 2000 Index gained 0.8%.
Even with such a small rise in crude prices, airline stocks suffered, as the volatility in the sector is giving commodities a run for their money. US Airways (NYSE:LCC) fell 3.6%, while United Continental (NYSE:UAL) slipped 1.7%.
Food retailers had a strong session — Winn-Dixie (NASDAQ:WINN) gained 8.6%, for example — and this was possibly because of the release of April retail sales, which showed what many investors and consumers have suspected for some time: Nobody is buying much of anything outside of food and fuel, both of which cost more than they used to.
Despite the recent gains-one-day-gone-the-next feel to this week’s market, there were some positive nuggets for those long stocks. The 10-year Treasury note sold off, bringing the yield to 3.23%, its highest level since May 4. You may remember the 10-year’s recent rally signaling that investors were growing a little more complacent with stocks.
Also, we noted on Wednesday the precarious position of large financial stocks, specifically the Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE:XLF) exchange-traded fund, which had fallen close to its 2011 lows. An early selloff brought the ETF even lower, before moving higher to finish flat.
Considering this wasn’t a prize day for Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) after a sell rating was slapped on the shares by bank analyst Dick Bove (citing fears of possible Justice Department actions), the resiliency of large financial names is a plus.
