S&P 500 down on oil rout, but on track for six-week rally
By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday, with major indexes on track for a sixth straight weekly advance in a holiday-shortened session, though energy shares saw heavy pressure as crude oil tumbled to a four-year low. While major indexes saw slight moves - with both the Dow and Nasdaq edging higher and the S&P 500 slightly down - there was volatility in areas of the market connected to the price of oil. Crude plunged 5.9 percent to $69.38 per barrel a day after OPEC decided not to cut output, which could leave markets oversupplied. The decline was the biggest one-day drop since September 2011, with prices lowest since 2010. "Crude seems to have no floor right now, and we could easily see the price drop into the low $60s," said Tony Roth, chief investment officer at Wilmington Trust in Wilmington, Delaware. The Energy Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund fell 5.8 percent to $80.36. Exxon Mobil Corp lost 3.5 percent to $91.20 while Chevron Corp fell 3.4 percent to $111.21; both are Dow components. Weakness in oil boosted other sectors, including airlines, which are inversely correlated to oil prices given fuel costs. Southwest Airlines rose 7.1 percent to $42.05 as the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainer, followed by Delta Air Lines, up 5.9 percent to $46.85. Retailers also rallied, as lower gas prices could increase consumer spending as the holiday shopping season ramps up. Wal-Mart Stores Inc rose 2.9 percent to $87.47 while the S&P 500 Retailing index was up 1.5 percent. "[Oil] this low should be very additive to economic activity, not just with gas prices but across the economy," said Roth, who oversees $80 billion in assets. "Early holiday shopping numbers should come in pretty strong." At 9:52 a.m. (1452 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average rose 33.24 points, or 0.19 percent, to 17,860.99, the S&P 500 lost 3.14 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,069.69 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.23 points, or 0.09 percent, to 4,791.55. Major indexes are on track for their sixth straight weekly advance, the S&P's longest streak since November 2013. For the week, the Dow and S&P are up 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq, which counts few energy names among its major components, is up 1.7 percent. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE 1,529 to 1,230, for a 1.24-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,292 issues fell and 1,005 advanced, for a 1.29-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 was posting 114 new 52-week highs and 18 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite was recording 112 new highs and 39 new lows. (Editing by Paul Simao and Nick Zieminski)
