Wall Street closes mixed as oil dips

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) – Wall Street closed mixed Wednesday as oil prices fell around 4 percent after reports from major agencies.

The Dow Jones rose 24 points to end the day at 18,372 points while the S&P 500 was flat -- rising only 1 point to remain in positive territory and close at 2,153. The Nasdaq was down 17 points to finish the day at 5,005.

While the Dow and the S&P posted new all-time highs, the Nasdaq lost all its gains from the two previous trading sessions and once again moved into negative territory for 2016.

Oil prices dipped after the International Energy Agency announced in its monthly report that global oil supply surged in June from the previous month and the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, pumped crude at an all-time near-record rate last month.

In addition, the U.S.'s Energy Information Administration said in its own report Wednesday that the country's weekly gasoline stocks increased, but imports declined, adding to the overall supply worldwide and keeping global demand low.

At the final bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $45.01 a barrel -- a 3.7 percent decline, while international benchmark Brent crude was at $46.49 -- a 4.2 percent fall.

The markets will watch the Producer Price Index for June and weekly initial jobless claims scheduled to be released Thursday.