CAT Caterpillar Inc

By Ellie Ismailidou and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Facebook posts largest increase in 2 years; Under Armour jumps 22.5%

U.S. stocks finished higher Thursday, boosted by a jump in oil prices along with an earnings-driven surge in the shares of Facebook Inc. and Under Armour Inc.

In a day marked by big swings, the S&P 500 closed up 10.41 points or 0.6%, at 1,893.36, after temporarily trading above the psychologically important level of 1,900, with nine of its 10 main sectors in positive territory, led by energy and utilities. Health care was the only sector in the red, down 2.3%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 125.18 points, or 0.8%, at 16,069.64, swinging from a triple-digit gain to a double-digit loss and back again over the course of the day. The Nasdaq Composite rose as much as 1% in the early afternoon, but closed up 38.51 points, or 0.9%, at 4,506.68.

Read:Facebook's best day in years nearly adds a DuPont to its market cap (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebooks-best-day-yet-nearly-adds-a-dupont-to-its-market-cap-2016-01-28)

Earlier in the day, crude oil futures leapt more than 7% following reports that Russia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would discuss a potential output cut. Oil gave back most of those gains after a news report (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-pushes-lower-again-as-us-crude-inventories-jump-2016-01-28) said OPEC officials denied plans for a meeting. WTI oil futures settled 2.9% higher at $33.22, but well below session's $34.82 high.

Watch this MarketWatch video chat: How to know when oil has hit bottom? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-know-when-oil-has-hit-bottom-live-video-chat-with-experts-2016-01-27)

The heightened volatility in the equity market reflects that "there are a lot of variables in play and different investors tease out the data that will support their thesis," said Dan Farley, an investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

One drag on stocks was a steeper-than-expected slide in orders for durable goods that could mean the economy shrank (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/durable-goods-orders-decline-could-mean-economy-shrank-in-fourth-quarter-2016-01-28) in fourth quarter. Orders for long-lasting goods slid 5.1% in December (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/durable-goods-orders-slide-51-in-december-2016-01-28), far weaker than the 1.5% forecast decline. That data come a day after the Federal Reserve recognized a slowdown in the global economy but appeared to leave the door open to a March rate increase.

Oil, meanwhile, continued to be a key factor in momentum for equities.

U.S. stocks throughout January have moved mostly in tandem with swings in oil as the ultralow prices were feared to trigger defaults in the energy sector, freeze credit lines and destroy wealth in emerging markets, such as Russia, Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

See: Blame the robots as oil, stocks trade in tandem (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/blame-the-robots-as-oil-stocks-trade-in-tandem-2016-01-26).

"There's two key factors driving markets at the moment, the Fed and oil," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, in emailed comments.

Oil's rebound gave a boost to energy companies' stocks, and the energy sector led the S&P 500 Thursday afternoon with a 3.2% gain. Chevron Corp. (CVX), up 3% and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), up 2.3%, were among the Dow's best performers.

Heavy-machinery maker Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), whose product lines include equipment for the oil and gas industry, climbed 4.7%, leading the blue-chip gauge. The company on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations, but its sales fell short (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/caterpillar-shares-rise-on-fourth-quarter-earnings-beat-2016-01-28).

Among other big moves in individual stocks, a 15.5% jump for Facebook Inc. (FB) on the back of a well-received earnings report (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-shares-surge-as-quarterly-profit-tops-1-billion-2016-01-27) helped lift the Nasdaq.

Read:It's 'impossible to deny Facebook's momentum' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/its-impossible-to-deny-facebooks-momentum-analyst-2016-01-28)

Shares of Under Armour Inc. (UA) jumped 22.5%, leading S&P components, after the athletic apparel company beat fourth-quarter profit and revenue expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/under-armours-stock-soars-after-results-beat-expectations-upbeat-outlook-2016-01-28).

Economic data:Pending home sales eked out a small gain in December (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-inch-up-01-in-december-2016-01-28), signaling moderate homebuying activity ahead, but falling short of economists' expectations. The labor market, however, continued to do fairly well. Initial jobless claims fell last week (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-fall-16000-to-278000-2016-01-28) after touching a seven-month high earlier in January.

Movers and shakers: eBay Inc. (EBAY) tumbled 12.4% after the online marketplace late Wednesday reported a drop in sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ebay-reports-another-drop-in-revenue-2016-01-27-164853749).

Apple Inc. (AAPL) dipped in and out of positive territory and closed down 0.7%, following a 6.6% slump on Wednesday that came after the quarterly earnings report showed slower iPhone sales growth (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iphone-sales-slip-as-apples-growth-boom-ends-2016-01-26).

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) reversed premarket gains and closed down 3.8%. The China-based e-commerce giant reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alibabas-stock-surges-after-profit-sales-beat-2016-01-28).

Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) gained 1.5% after the company reported sales and profit that bested expectations.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) closed down 6% after the drugmaker reported adjusted earnings that met Wall Street's forecast (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eli-lilly-meets-earnings-forecasts-sticks-to-2016-guidelines-2016-01-28), though revenue fell slightly short.

Ford Motor Co. (F) shares reversed premarket gains to close down 1.2%. The car maker reported it swung to a profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ford-swings-to-profit-on-strength-in-namerica-2016-01-28) in the fourth quarter.

After the closing bell, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Visa Inc. (V) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) are expected to report earnings.

Other markets: Chinese stocks closed at the lowest level in over a year, as investors digested the Fed statement. Other Asian markets closed mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-stocks-unsettled-as-markets-ponder-fed-statement-2016-01-27).

Markets in Europe (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-fall-as-earnings-fed-weigh-2016-01-28) were covered in a sea of red, with several heavyweight companies adding pressure after announcing results.

Gold wavered, while the dollar dropped against most other currencies. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-could-head-towards-116-if-bank-of-japan-does-nothing-friday-2016-01-28)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2016 16:24 ET (21:24 GMT)

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