Dow Jones Industrial Average Today Climbs As Oil Prices Hit New Highs

The Dow Jones Industrial Average pushed higher after a busy day of earnings reports, key economic data, and a surprise inventory report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Let’s look at the final numbers on Wednesday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Dow Jones: 18,202.62; +40.68; +0.22%

S&P 500: 2,144.29; +4.69; +0.22%

Nasdaq: 5,246.41; +2.57; +0.05%

Now, here’s a look at today’s most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Thursday’s economic calendar.

DJIA Today: Markets Rally After Oil Prices Surge; Fed Rate Timing in Focus

The Dow Jones rallied 40 points as investors weighed the monthly Beige Book from the Federal Reserve and energy stocks surged thanks to a big boost in oil prices. According to the U.S. central bank, U.S. economic activity increased at a modest pace in most regions of the country. Despite tightening labor conditions, the Fed said that inflation has remained stubbornly low. With the Fed’s next monetary policy meeting quickly approaching, investors are looking for new clues into the timing of the next interest rate hike.

Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) gained more than 1.3% after the investment bank reported quarterly earnings in pre-market hours. The investment bank reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.81, topping expectations of $0.63. The bank said it bolstered revenue thanks to a 61% increase in bond trading income.

It’s been a positive week for financial stocks as investors cheer strong earnings reports and expectations rise for the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates in December. But while everyone is growing more optimistic, another big story is brewing that everyone seems to have ignored. There is a crisis in the consumer debt markets… and it all comes back to one terrible word from the 2009 financial crisis: subprime lending.

The price of crude oil today rallied after a surprise inventory update by the Energy Information Administration. The federal agency reported a surprise drop in weekly inventory levels. For the week ending Oct. 14, domestic crude inventories declined by 5.2 million barrels. That was nearly double the consensus estimate of economists.