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VOL. 40 | NO. 9 | Friday, February 26, 2016
Stocks inch higher as energy rallies; Monsanto tumbles
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are closing modestly higher, led by gains in energy companies as investors hope that the worst may soon be over for the battered sector.
Exxon Mobil led the Dow Jones industrial average higher with a gain of 2 percent. Other energy companies also rose.
Investors were encouraged by another gain in the price of oil, its seventh rise in the last eight days.
Agribusiness giant Monsanto dropped 8 percent after cutting its outlook, and spirits maker Brown-Forman, whose brands include Jack Daniels, fell 2 percent after lowering its guidance.
The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 34 points, or 0.2 percent, to 16,899.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index added eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,986. The Nasdaq composite climbed 13 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,703.