Major Averages Snap Five-Session Losing Streak

(RTTNews) - After initially showing a lack of direction, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Friday. The gains on the day came on the heels of a recent pullback, with the major averages snapping a five-session losing streak.

The markets benefited from a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for February delivery jumping $2.44 to $48.69 a barrel.

Reflecting the rebound by the price of crude oil, oil service stocks turned in some of the market's best performances on the day. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index surged up by 4.4 percent after ending the previous session at its worst closing level in over three years.

Other energy stocks also moved notably higher, with the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index jumping by 3.7 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Considerable strength was also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 3.2 percent gain posted by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. With the gain, the index reached its best closing level in three months.

The strength among gold stocks came amid a notable increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery climbing $12.10 to $1,276.90 an ounce.

Steel, biotechnology, healthcare, and software stocks also saw significant strength on the day, moving notably higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages saw further upside going into the close, ending the session near their best levels of the day. The Dow surged up 190.86 points or 1.1 percent to 17,511.57, the Nasdaq soared 63.56 points or 1.4 percent to 4,634.38 and the S&P 500 jumped 26.75 points or 1.3 percent to 2,019.42.

Despite the strong gains on the day, the major averages all moved lower for the week. The Nasdaq tumbled by 1.5 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 slid by 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.