(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) U.S. stocks reversed course to trade higher by Friday afternoon but was still on track to post its biggest weekly drop in more than a month.
According to new data from investors pulled $4.1 billion out of U.S. stock funds in the latest week the second straight week of net outflows. Wall Street is coming off five straight sessions of losses after yesterday's Swiss currency move and as oil prices tumbled.
As of noon in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 32 points at 17354 while the Nasdaq rose 20 points to 4592 and the S&P 500 added 8 points to 2001. The Dow plunged 106 points on Thursday after the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly scrapped its long-standing floor against the euro.
On the economic calendar in the US today the government released the consumer price index for December which posted its biggest drop in six years falling 0.4% last month as expected led by energy. Core consumer prices excluding food and energy remained unchanged.
In addition to consumer prices investors also got a read on manufacturing sector. Industrial production slipped 0.1% in December as expected following a 1.3% jump in November. Overall capacity utilization eased to 79.7% in December from 80% in November.
Meanwhile preliminary figures on January consumer sentiment showed a reading of 98.2 for the highest level since January 2004 far better than consensus expectations for a reading of 94 and the prior 93.6 level.
Oil prices rebounded today after the International Energy Agency said non-OPEC oil producers will increase output this year at a slower rate than previously forecast rebalancing the over-supplied global markets in the second half of 2015. WTI crude for February delivery rose $1.08 to $47.25 a barrel in New York trading.
In corporate activity () slid 1.3% after the company's fourth quarter profit fell over 7% as revenue from trading and investment banking dropped. The bank turned in the sharpest year-over-year drop in fixed income currencies and commodities trading from the US invesment banks that have reported fourth quarter results so far.
() shares edged down even after reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that topped forecasts as first quarter guidance was slightly disappointing.
(LB) said it is planning to cut 9000 jobs or about 7% of its workforce amid declining oil prices. Shares rose over 4% on Friday.
(NYSE:) is facing fines for its Gulf oil spill of up to $13.7 billion about 22% less than the maximum after a judge ruled the size of the disaster was smaller than initially feared.
EU regulators said Amazon's () tax arrangements in Luxembourg may violate EU law giving the US e-commerce giant an illegal advantage over competitors.
() extended losses falling another 9% today after a 35% plunge on Thursday as new reports said the electronics chain is in active talks with Sprint () to sell the leases for some of its stores. Bloomberg also confirmed the scoop from the Wall Street Journal yesterday that the company is preparing for a bankruptcy filing as soon as next month.
Shares of Wet Seal (NASDAQ:WTSL) also tumbled over 42% after the teen apparel retailer voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
European markets turned to finish sharply higher today with shares in France leading the region. Asian markets mostly closed in the red with Japan's Nikkei settling down 1.4%. Gold futures climbed $14 to $1280 an ounce in New York.
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