(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)US stocks ended higher on Tuesday after oil-fuelled advances although growth downgrades tempered the upside. Stocks were buoyed by news that Russia and Saudi Arabia-led OPEC may have agreed on a freeze in oil output which could be confirmed on April 17 at a meeting in Doha. The broad-based S&P500 rose 0.97% to 2061 into the close. Meanwhile the S&P Midcap 400 gained 1% to 1439 and the S&P Smallcap 600 rose by 1% to 677. Oil managed to advance by 4.5% to $42.15 - its highest level since late November - but investors' excitement was tested by news that the International Monetary Fund had downgraded its global economic growth forecast for 2016 to 3.2% from a January released estimate of 3.4%. Midsession US stocks reversed earlier losses and rose by midsession on Tuesday after oil prices spiked higher on talk that Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to freeze oil output. Interfax reported on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia and Russia have reached agreement on an output freeze citing unidentified sources. OPEC members will meet with other major producers including Russia to discuss capping production on April 17. The broad-based S&P 500 was up 0.8% at 2058 while the S&P Midcap 400 gained 1% to 1438 and the S&P Smallcap 600 also gained 1% to 677. Although the start of the earnings season weighed on the market initially it was strong gains by oil that helped turn things around. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was 3.5% higher at $41.77 - their best level since late November. Open Wall Street shares were mixed at the open after US earnings season start failed to light the touch paper on sentiment. At the time of writing the benchmark Dow was up 13 at 17569 after futures trading had it down ten. The broader S&P500 was down a fraction - 0.28 - to stand at 2041 while the tech heavy Nasdaq index was down 18 points to stand at 4814. In other markets the S&PMidcap400 eased 0.03% to 1424 while the S&PMidcap600 shed 0.10% to stand at 670.64. In London the FTSE100 is down 6.3 points at 6193 alongside other European indices. US crude is up 0.67% to stand at US$40.64 a barrel. Earnings season got underway without much fanfare last night as aluminium giant reported a 15% drop in revenue. Alcoa (NYSE:AA) also had a drastic slump in first-quarter profit as depressed commodity prices took their toll on the firm. The aluminium group saw first quarter earnings drop 92% to US$16mln or break even per share down from US$195mln or 14 cents a share a year earlier.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.