(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)US shares pared losses by mid-session on Wednesday as oil prices made a comeback but the worst services data in over two years kept tickers below the day's waterline. A reading of US services activity in February indicated contraction. The Markit flash US services purchasing managers index fell to 49.8 from 53.2 in January - the first contraction in economic activity since the federal government shutdown in October 2013. A figure above 50.0 indicates expansion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.75% at 16309 the broader S&P500 index was down 0.67% a 1908 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down the least at 4486 down 0.4%. Investors found solace in safer assets such as US Treasuries and gold. With oil mustering an improvement - the West Texas Intermediate future up 0.5% at $32.03 a barrel - the market's nerves steadied. But it was not enough to avoid energy stocks dominating the fallers this session. Shares of Transocean (NYSE:RIG) dropped 6.91% to $7.95 to become the S&P's largest faller on Wednesday. In a touch of irony this week's oversold Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) was the S&P's biggest gainer - up 25% at $2.73 in spite of reporting a fourth quarter loss of $3.36 per share and saying it expects a 2016 output decline of 5%. Open Wall Street shares extended Tuesday losses at the open on Wednesday with the Dow Jones ticker dropping even more than the futures pit had indicated on the back of soft oil prices. Forecast to drop 115 points the Dow shed 1% or 160 points to 16271 while the broader S&P500 index was own 0.75% at 1906 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.7% to 4472. However all three tickers recovered from session lows quickly and were paring day losses. No surprise that energy stocks were among the main losers after US benchmark oil prices measured by the West Texas Intermediate contract shed 3% to $30.94. But Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) was defiant - its shares rising 19.5% to $2.61 despite reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $3.36 per share. The company also said it expected a 5% output decline ths year. Chesapeake was one of the biggest fallers on the bourse on Tuesday so investors sensed that it had been oversold. Another defiant stock was retail giant Target (NYSE:TGT) whose shares rose 3.1% to $76.18 despite posting quarterly results that slightly missed analyst expectations. The company said it expects fiscal 2016 earnings per share to come in between $5.20 and $5.40 well above the expected $4.72. Pre-Open Wall Street futures point to a softer start to Wednesday's session as once again oil prices continue to steer the market. US crude dropped 3% trading at $30.92 while Brent crude was down 1.9% at $32.65. The latest leg down comes after comments from Saudi Arabia's oil minister ruled out the possibility of coordinated production cuts but said more nations would join the proposed 'freeze'. It has again put a dampener on investor sentiment and sent global equities lower. Having lost more than 1% on Tuesday pre-market trading in New York sees stocks lower still. Dow Jones futures are down a further 115 points at 16281 while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also point lower. As the opening bell approaches a number of blue-chip earnings reports will come into focus notably retailers like Target and TJX. Later today after the close of trading the schedule includes names such as HP (HPQ) Transocean (RIG) and Victoria Secret owner L Brands (LB).
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