Oil Prices to 75USD, Stocks Up
Oil Prices to 75USD, Stocks Up
September 8, 2010
Oil prices rose to $75 today, as the three major stock indices rose, as well. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 55 points, the NASDAQ was up 23 points, and the S&P 500 was up nearly 9 points today on better European data.
Stocks were down yesterday due to poor stress tests from EU banks, including Europe’s largest economy, Germany. With the easing of European debt fears, trading was up, and so were the major stock indices today in Wall Street trading.
Oil set for October delivery rose from just over $73 a barrel to $75 a barrel. Prices for crude, as well as gasoline prices were expected to stay steady and even drop slightly in September, because September marks the traditional end of the summer driving season. Gas prices were down more than expected compared to last summer on weak demand, as consumers drove much less, likely due to the poor economy and intractable unemployment.
United Natural Foods, purveyor of organically grown foods, is set to post a profit, and their CEO says the outlook for them is “tasty”, according to Fox Business Channel. Organic foods being more expensive than other foods, this is a surprising factor, given the weak economy. Perhaps consumers without health insurance due to layoffs are buying organic in order to take better care of their health, in hopes of reducing doctor visits. Investors turn to biomedical and healthcare stock almost as much as Treasury Bonds and precious metals in a down economy. Wall Street is still set to lose 80,000 jobs within the next 18 months. It is unclear how much this loss will raise the unemployment rate, given the anemic hiring on private, non farm payrolls.
Related posts:
- US Durable Goods Numbers Disappoint, Cause Stocks to Open in Slump
- Stocks Post Gains for Second Day in a Row
- Stocks Set for Rebound Today after Jobless Claims Fall
- Stocks Set for Mixed Results Today
- Stocks Edged Higher Today, but Cautiously So