Stocks Ended Higher as Oil Recovered

U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday as some stabilization in oil prices offset declines in financials. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 53.21 points, or 0.32%, to 16,484.99. The S&P 500 rose 8.53 points, or 0.44%, to 1,929.80.The Nasdaq Composite was up 39.02 points, or 0.87%, to 4,542.61.

Oil futures settled with a gain on Wednesday, finding support from a weekly decline in U.S. crude production. April West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 28 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $32.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange settled up $1.14, or 3.4%, at $34.41 a barrel.

The Group of 20 nations must plan now for a coordinated stimulus program to keep a slowing global economy from stalling, International Monetary Fund staff said in a report on Wednesday.

HP Inc. (HPQ) posted in-line quarterly results. HP reported its first-quarter earnings fell to $592 million, or 33 cents a share, from $1.37 billion, or 73 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, HP would have earned 36 cents a share. Revenue fell 12% to $12.2 billion.