By Ellie Ismailidou and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Facebook posts largest increase in 2 years; Under Armour jumps 20%

U.S. stocks once again pushed higher Thursday afternoon, boosted by a jump in oil prices along with strong earnings-driven gains in Facebook Inc. and Under Armour Inc.

In a day that has seen the market make big gains, only to melt away, the S&P 500 was up 13 points or 0.7%, at 1,897 and once again nearing the psychologically important level of 1,900. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 94 points, or 0.6%, at 16,037, after an early gain of 120 points later turned into a double-digit loss. The Nasdaq Composite rose 47 points, or 1%, at 4,515.

Stocks rallied early as crude oil futures leapt more than 7% following unconfirmed reports that Russia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut output. But after a news report (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-pushes-lower-again-as-us-crude-inventories-jump-2016-01-28) said OPEC officials denied plans for a meeting with Russia over potential output cuts, those gains shrunk.

Watch this MarketWatch video chat: How to know when oil has hit bottom? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-know-when-oil-has-hit-bottom-live-video-chat-with-experts-2016-01-27)

The heightened volatility in the equity market reflects that "there are a lot of variables in play and different investors tease out the data that will support their thesis," said Dan Farley, an investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

One drag on stocks is a steeper-than-expected slide in orders for durable goods that could mean the economy shrank (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/durable-goods-orders-decline-could-mean-economy-shrank-in-fourth-quarter-2016-01-28) in fourth quarter. Orders for long-lasting goods slid 5.1% in December (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/durable-goods-orders-slide-51-in-december-2016-01-28), well below the 1.5% forecasted decline. That data come a day after the Federal Reserve recognized a slowdown in the global economy.

Still, oil's rebound gave a boost to energy companies' stocks, and the energy sector led the S&P 500 early afternoon with a 3% gain. Chevron Corp. (CVX), up 3.4% and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), up 1.9%, were among the Dow's best performers.

Heavy-machinery maker Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), whose product lines include equipment for the oil and gas industry, climbed 3.7%. The company on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations, but its sales fell short (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/caterpillar-shares-rise-on-fourth-quarter-earnings-beat-2016-01-28).

Among other big moves in individual stocks, a 15.5% jump for Facebook Inc. (FB) on the back of a well-received earnings report (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-shares-surge-as-quarterly-profit-tops-1-billion-2016-01-27) helped lift the Nasdaq.

Read:It's 'impossible to deny Facebook's momentum' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/its-impossible-to-deny-facebooks-momentum-analyst-2016-01-28)

Shares of Under Armour Inc. (UA) jumped 20%, leading S&P components, after the athletic apparel company beat fourth-quarter profit and revenue expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/under-armours-stock-soars-after-results-beat-expectations-upbeat-outlook-2016-01-28).

U.S. stocks throughout January have moved mostly in lockstep with swings in oil as the ultralow prices were feared to trigger defaults in the energy sector, freeze credit lines and destroy wealth in emerging markets, such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

"There's two key factors driving markets at the moment, the Fed and oil," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in emailed comments.

"As we've seen a lot this year already, oil can be quite volatile and should we see it take a turn for the worse, I would expect U.S. indexes won't be far behind," he said.

Economic data:Pending home sales eked out a small gain in December (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-inch-up-01-in-december-2016-01-28), signaling moderate homebuying activity ahead, but falling short of economists' expectations. The labor market, however, continues to do fairly well. Initial jobless claims fell last week (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-fall-16000-to-278000-2016-01-28) after touching a seven-month high earlier in January.

Movers and shakers: eBay Inc. (EBAY) tumbled 12.9% after the online marketplace late Wednesday reported a drop in sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ebay-reports-another-drop-in-revenue-2016-01-27-164853749).

Apple Inc. (AAPL) dipped in and out of positive territory following a 6.6% slump on Wednesday that came after the quarterly earnings report showed slower iPhone sales growth (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iphone-sales-slip-as-apples-growth-boom-ends-2016-01-26).

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) reversed premarket gains and tumbled 1.2% in the afternoon. The China-based e-commerce giant reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alibabas-stock-surges-after-profit-sales-beat-2016-01-28).

Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) was up 1.3% after the company reported sales and profit that bested expectations.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) was down 3.3% after the drugmaker reported adjusted earnings that met Wall Street's forecast (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eli-lilly-meets-earnings-forecasts-sticks-to-2016-guidelines-2016-01-28), though revenue fell slightly short.

Ford Motor Co. (F) shares reversed premarket gains to trade down 2.5%. The car maker reported it swung to a profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ford-swings-to-profit-on-strength-in-namerica-2016-01-28) in the fourth quarter.

After the closing bell, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Visa Inc. (V) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) are expected to report earnings.

Other markets: Chinese stocks closed at the lowest level in over a year, as investors digested the Fed statement. Other Asian markets closed mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-unsettled-as-markets-ponder-fed-statement-2016-01-27).

Markets in Europe (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-fall-as-earnings-fed-weigh-2016-01-28) were covered in a sea of red, with several heavyweight companies adding pressure after announcing results.

Gold wavered, while the dollar dropped against most other currencies. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-could-head-towards-116-if-bank-of-japan-does-nothing-friday-2016-01-28)

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2016 12:52 ET (17:52 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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