Stocks turn around from sharp fall, oil plunges

Markets were mixed on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent after recovering from a sharp fall earlier in the session while the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.2 percent. However, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 percent.

JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, said: “A thinly-traded market can sometimes exacerbate moves, and August trading tends to be light – its typically a sleepy month.”

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after US inventory data showed an unexpected increase in supplies for last week. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 4.7 percent and Brent fell 4.6 percent.

“Selling pressure has started to build, and as a result, crude oil has entered in bear market territory,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst with TF Global Markets.