Crude oil prices rose to settle at $48.31 per barrel to lift the markets to a higher close with the Dow rising 22 points to 18,597. Nasdaq gained 11 points to 5,240.
On the upside
Bargain hunters lifted shares of Stone Energy (NYSE: SGY).
Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) impressed with sharply higher second quarter earnings and revenue that surpassed analyst expectations.
Shares of Lpath (Nasdaq: LPTN) climbed again.
On the downside
Shares Corrections Corporation of America (NYSE: CXW) and The GEO Group (NYSE: GEO) plunged after the Justice Department said that it would reduce and ultimately end the use of privately operated prisons.
Auris Medical Holding (Nasdaq: EARS) reported disappointing results from a TACTT2 trial of its acute inner ear tinnitus treatment Keyzilen and reported a loss of for the second quarter.
Jones Energy (NYSE: JONE) will pay approximately $136.5 million to buy 18,000 acres of land in Canada and Oklahoma. The company will fund the purchase through the sale of 14 million common shares of stock and 1 million shares of convertible preferred stock.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 rose 4 points to 2,187. Bitcoin added $1 to $571.
