U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday following news of a cease fire and possible lasting peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
The cease fire, set to begin Sunday, comes as the result of ongoing negotiations between leaders from both sides. The news provided at least a temporary distraction from the financial uncertainty in Greece, which has driven market volatility this week.
Oil prices–the other driving force on the market of late–were up 5% in a strong day for the beleaguered commodity.
On the data side, retails sales figures declined for the second month in a row. The fall was a bit deeper than experts had expected, with a decline of 0.8% as opposed to projections of 0.5%. The weekly jobless claims figures also become available today.
In regards to the Greek crisis, talks will resume Monday after yesterday’s meeting between Euro zone finance heads did not yield an outcome.
Here are the final numbers from Wall Street on Thursday:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 17,972.38 (+110.24)
NASDAQ: 4,857.61 (+56.64)
S&P 500: 2,088.47 (+19.94)
