U.S. stocks rose to the cusp of their records on Thursday, as oil prices jumped after President Donald Trump announced “massive” new sanctions on Russia’s crude industry.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% and crept back within 0.2% of its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 144 points, or 0.3%, and finished just below its own record set earlier this week, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.9%.
Companies in the oil and gas business led the way, including gains of 1.1% for Exxon Mobil, 3.1% for ConocoPhillips and 3.4% for Diamondback Energy. They rose with prices for crude, which leaped roughly 5.5% after Trump announced sanctions against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
The hope is to convince Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, to end the brutal war with Ukraine, and sanctions could constrict the global flow of oil. The jumps helped oil prices recover some of their sharp recent losses, taken because of expectations for supplies of crude in inventories to remain plentiful. Oil prices are still down more than 10% for the year so far.
Also helping to drive the stock market higher were strong profit reports from several big U.S. companies, as the reporting season ramps up for their profits during the summer. The majority are topping Wall Street’s forecasts, as is usually the case.
