Investing.com -- U.S. stocks held onto gains on Wednesday, continuing a recent hot streak, as oil prices surged to a fresh 2016-yearly high following a smaller than expected build in domestic crude stockpiles last week.
On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. crude futures closed above $44 a barrel, hitting their highest level on the calendar year and reaching their highest level since early-November. It came after the U.S. Energy Department reported a build of 2.1 million barrels in U.S. crude inventories last week, roughly 1 million less than forecasts from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday afternoon. Since tumbling to 13-year lows on February 11 at $26.05 a barrel, U.S. crude has rallied nearly 60%. Oil prices have also traded in virtual lockstep with U.S. equities, providing a significant boost to the major indices.
As a result, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Composite index remained near their highest levels of the year and percentage points from all-time record highs. The Dow gained 42.67 or 0.24% to 18,096.27, while the S&P 500 added 7.80 or 0.16% to 2,102.40, as both indices finished with their sixth winning session over the last seven trading days. The Dow closed at its highest level since July.
On the S&P 500, four of 10 sectors closed in the green as stocks in the Energy, Financials and Health Care industries led. Stocks in the Utilities sector lagged, slumping more than 2% on the day. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, added 7.80 or 0.16% to 4,948.13, amid strong performances from Yahoo! Inc (NASDAQ:YHOO) and Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX).
As stocks continue to rise, the CBOE Volatility Index dropped as low as 12.50 on Wednesday, its lowest level since the days leading up to a China-induced crash last August.
The top performer on the Dow was Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which gained 4.33 or 2.66% to 166.98. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) finished just ahead of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which added 3.43 or 2.63% to 133.93, one day after reporting better than expected first quarter earnings. In addition, UnitedHealth, the nation's largest health care insurer, announced that it will depart from the Obamacare health insurance marketplace in 2017, citing prohibitively high market costs. Currently, UnitedHealth sells individual insurance plans in 34 U.S. states.
The worst performer was Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO), which fell 2.23 or 4.79% to 44.37, after the beverage giant's quarterly sales tumbled 4%, amid weak demand in Europe and lower profits in Latin America, due in part to a stronger dollar. The sell-off in Coca-Cola shares also triggered warning signals among investors on the viability of other blue chip dividend stocks.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC), which added 2.15 or 5.20% to 43.47. Despite Wednesday's rally, shares in the California-based hard disk drive manufacturer are still down more than 55% over the last year. The worst performer was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN), which slid 14.79 or 3.57% to 399.00, after the pharmaceutical giant received a downgrade from analysts at WF due primarily to Medicare Part B reimbursement concerns.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS), which soared 4.35 or 8.28% to 56.90. On Tuesday, Discover topped analysts' forecasts with its first quarter earnings after credit card sales volumes increased by 4% on an annual basis. Coca-Cola also finished as the worst performer on the S&P 500, just below NiSource Inc (NYSE:NI) which lost 0.92 or 3.84% to 23.06. Investors await the release of a host of earnings from top companies, including American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) and Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) after the bell.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 1,750 to 1,298 margin.