U.S. stocks recorded the biggest gain in more than a month as expectations for a rate hike were pushed back following disappointing data on retail sales.
The S&P 500 SPX, +1.26% closed 25.71 points, or 1.3%, higher at 2,065.95, with nine of its 10 main sectors finishing with gains. Financials led the way, with the sector gaining 2.2%.
Natural-gas futures pulled back after a gain of 3.4% in the previous session, despite a government report showing supplies of the heating fuel fell a bit more than expected last week.
April natural gas NGJ15, +0.48% settled at $2.734 per million British thermal units, down 9 cents, or 3.2%.
On Nymex, April gasoline RBJ5, -0.48% fell 1.7 cents, or 0.9%, to $1.81 a gallon, while April heating oil HOJ5, +0.19% settled at $1.779 a gallon, down 4.1 cents, or 2.3%.
Oil futures settled near $47 a barrel on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate prices marking their lowest settlement since late January following a ninth straight weekly increase in U.S. supplies.
Crude for delivery in April CLJ5, +0.13% settled at $47.05 a barrel, down $1.12, or 2.3%, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices haven’t settled this low since Jan. 29, based on the most-active contracts.
April Brent crude LCOJ5, +0.25% on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell 46 cents, or 0.8%, to $57.08 a barrel after finding support earlier from ongoing violence by Islamic State militants in Iraq.
