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US stocks jump on higher oil prices

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The Dow has finished more than 200 points higher on surging oil prices and merger activity on the eve of the closely watched US jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 211.86 points (1.20 per cent) on Thursday to 17,884.88.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 21.01 (1.03 per cent) to 2,062.52, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 48.39 (1.03 per cent) to 4,765.10.

US oil prices gained more than four per cent to close above $50 a barrel, lifting petroleum stocks. Dow member ExxonMobil climbed 1.0 per cent, while oil-services giant Halliburton added 2.3 per cent.

Dow member Pfizer gained 2.9 per cent on news that its $17 billion deal to buy Hospira would add a new portfolio of sterile injectable treatments and biosimilar drugs to Pfizer’s broad pharma offerings.

Dow component DuPont jumped 3.1 per cent following its announcement of two new board members as it continued to spar with activist investor Nelson Peltz. Peltz has called for a split-up of the company and proposed four board nominees.

The Walt Disney Company, another Dow member, rose 1.3 per cent after tapping Disney parks and resorts chief Thomas Staggs as chief operating officer. The move was seen as succession planning for chief executive Robert Iger.

21st Century Fox, part of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, fell 5.4 per cent as the company lowered its forecast for 2015.

Amazon jumped 2.5 per cent on a bullish report by Morgan Stanley which said the online retailer is entering a phase of improving profitability.

Oil services company Weatherford International rose 3.0 per cent after announcing it would cut 8,000 jobs in response to low oil prices.

Markets are expecting a modestly solid jobs report from the Labor Department on Friday. It is expected to show the US economy added 235,000 jobs, a slowdown from December, and the unemployment rate holding at 5.6 per cent.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 1.81 per cent from 1.74 per cent Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.42 per cent from 2.34 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.