Meager Gains as Oil Retreats

Drop in jobless claims encourages investors, but it's a 'one-story market'
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted May 22, 2008 3:35 PM CDT
Meager Gains as Oil Retreats
In this undated file photo, traders work at the New York Stock Exchange in New York.   (AP Photo)

Stocks eked out small gains after two days of big losses as surging oil pulled back from a new record of $135 per barrel to $131.79, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow rose 24.43, closing at 12,625.62, while the Nasdaq climbed 16.31 to settle at 2,464,58. The S&P 500 rose 3.64, finishing the session at 1,384.35.

“It continues to be a 'one-story' market," in the words of one analyst, as investors start thinking about the long-term implications of oil selling at current, or higher, prices. Nonetheless, the modest gains made by indices were probably helped by a Labor Department report that said initial jobless claims fell 9,000 from last week, to 365,000. (More S&P 500 stories.)

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