* Oil inventories' sharp drop improves recovery prospects
* Investors shake off China concerns
* Energy, healthcare stocks up; Chevron, Merck lead gains
* Dow up 0.7 pct, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gain 0.7 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click STXNEWS/US
(Adds NetApp's results after the bell)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on
Wednesday, shaking off a slide in China's equity market, as
investors responded favorably to a surprising drop in crude
oil stockpiles that might suggest an improving demand
outlook.
Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> and Chevron Corp <CVX.N>, both
Dow components, led the blue-chip Dow industrials' advance.
Exxon Mobil was up 2.3 percent at $68.00, and Chevron gained
1.8 percent to $68.16.
Murphy Oil Corp <MUR.N> was also up 3.1 percent at $58.05
and the S&P Energy Index <.GSPE> gained 1.9 percent.
U.S. front-month crude oil <CLc1> rose 4.7 percent, or
$3.23, to settle at $72.42 a barrel after a report showed the
biggest drop in inventories since May. For details, see
[]
Wall Street had opened lower after the Shanghai Composite
index <> fell to a two-month low as investors fretted
that China's 20 percent slide over the past two weeks would
continue. []
"We see more people shrugging off overseas weakness and
putting money into equities here, not wanting to see the
stocks come down," said Michael James, senior trader at
Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.
"Firmer oil prices are helping the overall equities
market, but there is a positive bias toward equities to begin
with."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 61.22
points, or 0.66 percent, to end at 9,279.16. The Standard &
Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 6.79 points, or 0.69 percent, to
996.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> advanced 13.32
points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,969.24.
After the closing bell, shares of NetApp Inc <NTAP.O> fell
3.7 percent to $22.05 after the company reported its fiscal
first-quarter results. [] The data storage
equipment maker's stock closed on Nasdaq at $22.89, up just 4
cents, or 0.2 percent, before the earnings were released.
During the regular session, healthcare stocks also
outperformed the broader market. Shares of Merck & Co <MRK.N>
led the healthcare sector's advance. The drugmaker's stock was
up 2.5 percent at $31.48. Shares of rival drugmaker Pfizer Inc
<PFE.N> added 2.4 percent to $16.37.
But the tech-heavy Nasdaq's climb was curbed by
Hewlett-Packard Co <HPQ.N>, which was down 0.3 percent at
$43.83 on the NYSE after the computer and printer maker
expressed caution about business demand late on Tuesday.
[] Earlier, H-P hit an intraday low at $42.52.
Another speed bump for the market was courtesy of Deere &
Co <DE.N>, which shed 2.9 percent to $43.78 after the U.S.
tractor and farm equipment maker said it expected to barely
break even in the fourth quarter. []
With many traders on vacation, volume was light on the New
York Stock Exchange, with only about 988 million shares
changing hands, sharply below last year's estimated daily
average of 1.49 billion.
On the Nasdaq, about 1.99 billion shares traded, also
below last year's daily average of 2.28 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of about 3 to 2, while on the Nasdaq, about 17 stocks
rose for every nine that fell.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
