Stocks closed higher on Thursday amid hopes that Saudi Arabia and Russia will curtail oil production, providing stability to energy markets roiled by the price war between the two crude exporters.

Published: April 2, 2020 at 4:08 p.m. ET, By Sunny Oh

The S&P 500 SPX rose 2.2% to 2,527. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA advanced 470 points, or 2.2%, to 21,413, based on preliminary numbers. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.7% to 7,487.

President Donald Trump said he expected Russia and Saudi Arabia to cut oil production by as much as 15 million barrels a day. Futures for a U.S. crude benchmark were up $5.01 to $25.32 per barrel on Thursday.

The positive developments helped markets shrug off worrisome labor-market data. Some 6.65 million Americans filed for first-time jobless benefits in the week ending March 28, doubling the previous week’s record rise of 3.28 million.

Source: www.marketwatch.com