Wall Street also kept an eye crude prices as they tried to bounce back from back-to-back sell-offs.
Crude futures for August delivery climbed 0.49 percent to settle at $42.74 a barrel. On Wednesday, oil hit its lowest level since August as investors remained concerned about a supply glut in the market. The commodity also fell more than 2 percent during Tuesday’s session.
“We’re seeing a number of indications of a softening economy,” said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank. “We’re growing but it seems like we’re slipping back into the slow-growth trend that’s been in place for most of the recovery.”
The pullback in oil prices pressured energy stocks. The S&P energy sector had dropped 3.5 percent for the week entering Thursday’s session.
Still, the broader market has stood its ground, with the S&P and Dow up marginally for the week, while the Nasdaq was had risen 1.34 percent in the same period.
“Oil is becoming less important since it only makes up about 6 percent of the S&P 500”, said Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors. “In the overall context of things, we know that oil is the new coal and gas is the new oil. Crude just isn’t a commodity in short supply.”
Despite energy’s recent pullback, the overall indexes remain near record highs. Gary Bradshaw, portfolio manager at Hodges Capital, said he expects stocks to keep climbing higher. “Corporations are doing well and we have a backdrop of low corporate rates,” he said.
In corporate news, shares of American Airlines gained about 1 percent after the airline disclosed Qatar Airways had approached the firm about taking a large stake in the company. Other airline stocks like Delta Air Lines and Southwest followed American shares higher.
