S&P Market News Update

The U.S. stock market ended Wednesday’s choppy trading day with modest gains, extending its winning streak to three sessions, as investors widely expect the European Central Bank to deliver on monetary stimulus at its key meeting on Thursday.

The S&P 500 SPX, +0.47%   switched between gains and losses, but closed 9.58 points, or 0.5%, higher at 2,032.13. Energy sector stocks led the gains, jumping 1.8%, while all 10 sectors closed higher.

Forex Market Update

The euro is seeing wild swings in Wednesday trading following reports that the European Central Bank’s executive board has developed a proposal calling for roughly €50 billion a month in sovereign-bond purchases.

The euro EURUSD, -0.16%   recorded a session high of $1.1680, essentially erasing four sessions’ worth of losses after the report was published, before moving lower to around $1.1591, slightly above its Tuesday afternoon level of $1.1547.

The pound traded at GBPUSD, -0.06%  $1.5133 and GBPEUR, +0.09%   €1.3055, compared to $1.1547 and €1.3112 Tuesday.

The dollar USDJPY, +0.20%   traded at ¥117.8320, compared to ¥118.6430 Tuesday afternoon.

The yen EURJPY, +0.08%  also traded higher against the euro, with the shared currency changing hands at ¥136.6200, compared to ¥137.0000 Tuesday.

Natural Gas Market Update

Elsewhere in energy trading, March natural-gas futures NGH15, +2.07%  rose 14 cents, or 5%, to settle at $2.9740 per million British thermal units. That put an end to a three-session losing stretch for natural gas. Futures lost 10% on Tuesday.

Gasoline for February RBG5, -0.29%  rose 1 cent, or 1%, to settle at $1.3255 a gallon on Nymex. February heating oil HOH5, +0.04%  gained 2 cents, or 1.2%, to end at $1.6464 a gallon on Nymex.