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Energy shares fuel world stock rally on OPEC deal; oil falls

Kelvin Chan
AP Business Writer
In this Monday, Sept. 26, 2016, file photo, trader Leon Montana works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

HONG KONG - Energy companies led a global stock market rally Thursday as investors welcomed news that OPEC nations planned to cut oil production for the first time in eight years in an effort to reduce a global glut.

KEEPING SCORE: European benchmarks posted solid gains in early trading. France’s CAC advanced 1.4 percent to 4,494.06 and Germany’s DAX rose 1 percent to 10,539.59. Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 1.1 percent to 6,922.65. U.S. stocks were poised to open higher. Dow futures added 0.1 percent to 18,251.00 and broader S&P 500 futures were up 0.1 percent to 2,164.30.

CRUDE CUT: Shares of energy companies surged after OPEC members struck a preliminary deal to curb output at a meeting in Algeria. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, whose members have been hit by depressed oil prices because of excess global production, overcame long-running disagreements and agreed to limit production to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels per day. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. surged 8.8 percent, Chinese oil producer CNOOC jumped 5 percent and Australia’s Woodside Petroleum leaped 7.3 percent. In London, Royal Dutch Shell climbed 5.4 percent and BP gained 4.4 percent.

MARKET INSIGHT: Analysts were skeptical about whether the OPEC cut would provide a long-term boost because it did nothing to address weak demand. “For oil to see a sustainable rally from here, demand side indicators need to be represented better,” said Nicholas Teo, trading strategist at KGI Fraser Securities in Singapore. “So far though, nothing of that sort has appeared in the horizon.”

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil futures leaped after the OPEC announcement, but momentum later reversed as traders grew skeptical of the deal’s lack of details. Crude oil lost 28 cents to $46.77 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged $2.38, or 5.3 percent, to settle at $47.05 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 46 cents to $48.78 a barrel in London.

ASIA’S DAY: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 1.4 percent to close at 16,693.71 and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.8 percent to 2,068.72. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.5 percent to 23,739.47 and the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4 percent to 2,998.48. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.1 percent to 5,471.30. Indexes in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and New Zealand also rose.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 101.50 yen from 100.93 yen in late trading Wednesday. The euro inched lower to $1.1219 from $1.1223.

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