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Stocks Pop: Exxon, Chevron Drive Dow; Oil Surges As OPEC Meets

Stocks vaulted higher at Friday's open, as the Dow aimed to snap an eight-session losing streak and oil prices surged on reports that OPEC ministers had agreed to a moderate boost to oil supplies.

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Early trade received lift from early news reports that some White House officials were pressing for negotiations with China ahead of the July 6 launch of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) staked out big early leads on the Dow, up 2.4% and 1.8%, respectively.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 0.6% out of the starting gate. The S&P 500 took a 0.4% gain at the open. The Nasdaq Composite held to a 0.1% advance, as Adobe Systems (ADBE) and Autodesk (ADSK) dragged on early trade. CarMax (KMX) spiked to the top of the S&P 500, but oil-related stocks held eight of the index's top 10 gains.

The Dow started trade Friday down 2.5% for the week after an eight-session decline. The index ended Thursday about 1% below its 50-day line of support, and a little more than 2% off the 25,000 mark. The Dow has not posted nine consecutive declines since at least 1988.

Earnings News: CarMax Spikes; Smart Global, Red Hat Tumble

Red Hat (RHT) tumbled, Carmax and Commercial Metals (CMC) spiked after reporting quarterly results.

CarMax surged nearly 11% after its first-quarter sales and earnings comfortably topped expectations, and comparable store sales declined much less than forecast. The gain lifted the stock 3% above a 76.36 buy point in an eight-month cup-with-handle base.

Red Hat dived 13% in early trade. The developer of open-source operating systems reported above-forecast fiscal first-quarter results late Thursday. But its earnings and revenue outlook for the second quarter fell short of consensus views. The stock ended Thursday down 5% for the week, back below a 167.46 flat base buy point and testing support at its 10-week moving average.

Smart Global (SGH) collapsed 9% at the open.  The computer memory components supplier topped analysts' expectations in its fiscal third-quarter results, but just met fourth-quarter earnings targets. The computer memory and data storage subsystems leader was down more than 5% for the week at Thursday's closing bell.

Commercial Metals vaulted 3.4% higher, despite missing analyst earnings and revenue estimates in its fiscal third-quarter report late Thursday. The stock triggered the automatic sell rule, after clearing a cup-with-handle buy point on May 31.

Oil Surges As OPEC Trims Output Boost

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reportedly agreed to a 600,000 barrel-per-day production increase. The meeting in Vienna included Russia and other non-OPEC partners. The increase was well below the possible 1 million barrel-per-day target floated earlier by Saudi's oil minister, and just above the 500,000 bpd level that analyst considered bullish for oil markets.

Brent crude vaulted 2.7%, West Texas Intermediate swung 3.2% higher early Friday. The gains pushed Brent above $75 per barrel. WTI trade well above $67.

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