- Commentary -

August 20, 2009 (FinancialWire) (By Philip Holmes) — Stocks ended higher on Wednesday after the U.S. government reported that crude oil stockpiles were down by 8.4 million barrels. The news trumped a selloff on the Shanghai exchange and particularly helped energy stocks like Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX).

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the session at 9,279.16, up 61.22 points, while the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose 6.79 points, to 996.46. The Nasdaq composite index gained 13.32 points on the day, to close at 1,969.24.

Hope of recovery was back in the air after the U.S. Energy Dept. surprised investors with a report that crude stockpiles were down 2.4%, to 343.6 million barrels. Though stockpiles are still well above last summer’s levels, when gasoline was over $4 a gallon, they were well below analysts’ expectations.

Without that news, U.S. investors might have been more alarmed that their Chinese counterparts had turned decidedly bearish, sending the Shanghai composite index down 4.30%. The move by Chinese banks to rein in lending is having a dampening effect on investor enthusiasm. Is this a message for the Fed and Treasury to keep pumping?

Healthcare stocks also enjoyed robust gains during Wednesday’s trading session. Drugmaker Merck was up 2.5%, while Pfizer gained 2.4%. It shows you what investors think of the healthcare reform debate, and where policy is likely heading.

The FirstAlert(tm) Economics Calendar lists Initial Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m.), Philadelphia Fed Index for August (10 a.m.), Leading Indicators Index for July (10 a.m.), Treasury announces 2, 5 & 7-year note auctions (11 a.m.).

The FirstAlert(tm) Events Calendar showcases VSEA Investor Day.

FirstAlert(tm) Website of the Day: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_grsl.shtml

Quote of the Day: “Will it not be wise to allow the friendship between nations to rest upon deep and permanent things? Irritations of the cuticle must not be confounded with heart failure.” Benjamin Harrison

Today is: Pony Express Day.

Happy Birthday: Edgar Guest, H. P. Lovecraft, Benjamin Harrison, Salvatore Quasimodo, Jacqueline Susann, Don King, Isaac Hayes, Connie Chung, Robert Plant, Al Roker, Fred Durst.

Today in History: Hungary was established in 1000 as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary. Lewis and Clark’s “Corps of Discovery,” exploring the Louisiana Purchase in 1804, suffered its only death when Sergeant Charles Floyd dies, apparently from acute appendicitis. President Andrew Johnson formally declared the U.S. Civil War over in 1866. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture debuted in 1882 in Moscow. The first commercial radio station, 8MK (WWJ), began operations in Detroit, Michigan, in 1920. Lou Gehrig hit his 23rd career grand slam in 1938, a record that stands, as of 2007. Exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was fatally wounded in 1940 in Mexico City by an assassin’s ice axe and died the next day. More than 100,000 people rallied in 1991 outside the Soviet Union’s parliament building protesting the coup aiming to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev. Estonia seceded from the Soviet Union in 1991.

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