NEW YORK: U.S. stocks climbed Thursday, snapping a five-session streak of declines as telecommunications and utilities shares gained.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had fallen as much as 169 points in morning trading after Japan’s central bank dashed hopes for additional monetary easing and amid concerns about the impact of a coming U.K. vote on whether to remain in the European Union. Official campaigning ahead of the referendum was halted Thursday after an attacker killed a lawmaker from the U.K.’s main opposition Labour Party.
By midday, stocks had recovered most of their losses. Trading volume was below this year’s average, and some analysts said investors were taking advantage of the multiday decline to exit from bets against the market, helping stocks rebound from the day’s lows.
The Dow industrials rose 92.93 points, or 0.5%, to 17733.10. The S&P 500 gained 6.49 points, or 0.3%, to 2077.99 and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 9.98 points, or 0.2%, to 4844.91.
“The market has been quite resilient,” said Jeremy Zirin, head of equity strategy at UBS Wealth Management Americas.
Telecommunications stocks in the S&P 500 added 0.8% and utilities shares climbed 0.7% as investors bought companies that tend to hold up better in times of economic uncertainty. Verizon Communications rose 62 cents, or 1.2%, to $53.46.
Energy shares were the only S&P 500 sector to decline, losing 0.2% as U.S. oil prices slid 3.7% to $46.21 a barrel.
The rebound in U.S. stocks followed a 3% fall in the Nikkei Stock Average after the Bank of Japan held course. The dollar lost 1.6% against the yen to ¥104.26, its lowest late New York quote against the Japanese currency since August 2014.
Some economists were expecting the bank to take additional stimulus measures amid a strengthening in the local currency and persistent weakness in inflation. Stocks in Hong Kong fell 2.1%.
Meanwhile, the Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.7%. Fresh polls added to concerns about the U.K.’s June 23 vote, weighing on risk assets while supporting the yen, gold and government bonds.
“The market is clearly showing us today how we would react to an exit,” said Philippe Gijsels, chief strategist at BNP Paribas Fortis. “The question is how much [uncertainty about the U.K. vote] is already priced in.”
As investors sought safety, gold for June delivery rose 0.8% to $1,296.10, the highest settlement since January 2015.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note sank to 1.563%, the lowest close since August 2012, from 1.594% Wednesday. Yields fall when prices rise.
