Markets Close Modestly Higher

Dow had been down 265 points earlier in the day
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 24, 2016 3:13 PM CST
Markets Close Modestly Higher
Trader Robert McQuade and specialist John McNierney, right, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016. Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street, led by declines in energy companies and banks as commodity prices fall.    (Richard Drew)

The stock market recovered from an early loss and managed a modest gain after the price of crude oil turned higher. Materials and energy stocks, which tend to swing widely along with commodities prices, posted the biggest gains Wednesday. The price of crude oil, which had been sharply lower early in the day, recovered after the government said that crude supplies did not rise as much as analysts had expected. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 53 points, or 0.3%, to close at 16,484. It was down 265 points earlier. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed eight points, or 0.4%, to 1,929. The Nasdaq composite climbed 39 points, or 0.9%, to 4,542. (More Dow Jones stories.)

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