Oil Price Gains Give ASX and NASDAQ a Boost

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the hike in oil price on Friday,which is the highest price so far in 2015, caused SPI futures to jump up 31 points and NASDAQ to climb to to its highest level in 15 years.

As quoted in the market news:

Brent crude jumped 3.4 per cent, or US$2.13, to US$64.86 per barrel, the highest level since December, while West Texas Intermediate added 2.4 percent, or US$1.33, to US$57.49 per barrel.

It comes as worries about security in the Middle East rise, with Saudi Arabia maintaining a bombing blitz in Yemen. Oil is particularly sensitive to geopolitical crisis in regions where it is produced, due to fears to could tighten supply.

On Wall Street, the S&P500 closed just short of a record high, reached last month, while the Nasdaq hit a record closing high, but even with Thursday’s advance, the Nasdaq remains below its intraday high of 5132.52 and the second-highest intraday level, 5078.86, both reached in March 15 years ago.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 20.42 points, or 0.11 percent, to 18,058.69, the S&P 500 gained 4.97 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,112.93 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.89 points, or 0.41 percent, to 5,056.06.

Click here to read the full Sydney Morning Herald report.