U.S. Stocks Rally as Consumer Shares Offset Oil, China Selloffs
- Alcoa climbs after-hours as traders shift focus to earnings
- Crude drives commodities rout as South african rand tumbles
Will the Oil Price Collapse Mute Earnings Gains?
U.S stocks rose in the last 30 minutes of trading, bringing to an end a volatile session as gains in consumer and technology shares overshadowed lingering concern over China that continued to fuel a rout in commodities. Treasuries retreated.
The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index ended Monday up 0.1 percent, after sliding to within two points of the 1,900 level earlier in the session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed for the first time in four days. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies declined to near bear market territory amid losses in biotechnology shares. The U.S. gains came after losses in Europe and Asia, as China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped more than 5 percent. Risk aversion was still evident in currency markets, with South Africa’s rand tumbling to a record low as oil extended its slide and copper fell.