S&P Market News Update

A late-afternoon rally, triggered by a rebound in beaten-down oil prices, was not enough to lift U.S. stocks out of negative territory on Wednesday. The key benchmarks closed with losses for the fourth straight session.

The S&P 500 SPX, -0.58%  declines were broad-based, with eight of 10 main industry groups ending lower. Financials and materials led losses, while utilities rallied. Beaten-down energy sector stocks swung from a 2% loss to end with a gain of 0.1%.

Dollar erases losses to trade flat against major rivals

The U.S. dollar traded flat against the euro, yen and pound Wednesday after dismal December retail-sales data caused investors to second-guess the strength of the U.S. economy, kicking off a session of choppy trade.

The euro EURUSD, -0.20%  turned positive against the dollar after the Commerce Department said retail sales dropped by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% last month to mark the biggest decline in nearly a year.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.19%  , a measure of the dollar’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six rival currencies, was down 0.22% to 92.1030.

The dollar staged a similar recovery against the yen. It recovered to ¥117.3320, after the buck fell USDJPY, +0.38% to ¥116.1150, its lowest level since mid-November.

The pound GBPUSD, -0.05%  traded at $1.5232, off its session high of $1.5270. It traded at $1.52 Tuesday afternoon.

Natural Market Update

Natural gas also rose on Wednesday, with the February contract NGG15, +0.99%  up 29 cents, or 9.9%, to finish at $3.2330 per million British thermal units. That was natural gas’s largest one-day percentage increase since Feb. 19, 2014.

Heating Oil Market Update

February heating oil HOG5, -1.02%  added 2 cents, or 1.4%, to $1.6552 a gallon on Nymex. That was heating oil’s largest one-day dollar and percentage gain since Dec. 23, 2014.

Comex Market Update

Gasoline for February RBG5, -0.58%  rose 8 cents, or 6.5%, to settle at $1.3507 a gallon on Nymex. That was gasoline largest one-day percentage increase since July 30, 2009.