NEW YORK, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street closed mixed Thursday, as oil jumping nearly six U.S. dollars sent energy stocks higher and overshadowed concerns about more write-down from financial firms.
Chevron and Exxon Mobil led energy shares up 2.3 percent, as oil posted a big jump on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Light, sweet crude rose nearly six dollars to settle above 121 dollars per barrel, as Tropical Storm Fay threatens Gulf of Mexico and investors worried that Russia may disrupt the oil supply after the United States and Poland signed a missile-shield agreement.
Investors were increasingly concerned about the financial sector and Citigroup lowered his third-quarter estimates for the investment banks Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley amid more write-down concerns, which led financial shares down 1.1 percent.
However, a rally in Lehman Brothers limited the decline of banks and brokers, after Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. raised the stock to "buy," believing the nation's fourth-biggest investment bank has become a "hostile takeover candidate."
The Dow Jones rose 12.78, or 0.11 percent, to 11,430.21. Broader indexes traded mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.18, or 0.25 percent, to 1,277.72; and the Nasdaq fell 8.70, or 0.36 percent, to 2,380.38.
