The tide may have turned when it comes to the supply of oil. Real Time Economic Calendar provided by Investing.com. **NEW** As part of the ongoing process to offer new and up-to-date information regarding seasonal and technical investing, we are adding a section to the daily reports that details the stocks that are entering their period of seasonal strength, based on average historical start dates. Stocks highlighted are for information purposes only and should not be considered as advice to purchase or to sell mentioned securities. As always, the use of technical and fundamental analysis is encouraged in order to fine tune entry and exit points to average seasonal trends. Stocks Entering Period of Seasonal Strength Today: No stocks identified for today The Markets Stocks jumped during the Wednesday afternoon trade as rumours flourished that OPEC had agreed to limit production starting in November. Following is an except from CNBC: Oil prices climbed sharply on Wednesday in the U.S., after Reuters reported OPEC members had reached an agreement to limit production to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day, down slightly on August’s output of 33.2 million barrels a day. The S&P 500 Index closed higher by five-tenths of one percent, led by the energy sector, which surged by over 4%. The S&P 500 Energy Sector index closed back above its 20 and 50-day moving averages, which recently had been showing signs of rolling over, following a trend that is typical going into the fall. With demand for energy commodities in decline coming off of the summer driving season, the price of oil typically falls through to early December, dragging on energy stocks as a result. The sector benchmark tested support just above its 200-day moving average around 480 on Tuesday, keeping intact the intermediate-term trading range that peaks around 520. Momentum indicators are attempting to curl higher from oversold levels. ENERGY Relative to the S&P 500 The bounce in oil also follows the release of the weekly petroleum inventory report from the EIA, the result of which is slowly taking on a bullish slant. Oil inventories declined by 1.9 million barrels last week, while gasoline reported a gain of 2.0 million barrels. The impact on the days of supply of oil was negligible, unchanged at 30.2, while the days of supply of gasoline jumped six-tenths to 24.2. Both US production of oil and oil imports were lower in the past week, as was the production of gasoline as refiners react to the diminished seasonal demand. While one week does not make a trend, evidence that the supply of oil is converging back upon historical averages is becoming apparent. Supply of the raw input is now 7.83 days above average, the narrowest gap since early February. The gap versus the average trend had been continuously expanding since early 2015, reaching historic levels around the all-time high in April of this year. The early evidence of narrowing could suggest that the tide has turned, allowing for demand to finally have the chance to eat away at bloated inventory levels. While imports remain the wildcard, the fact that they haven’t snapped back in the past couple of weeks following the slowdown attributed to Hurricane Hermine could be indicative of a new trend; further reports would be required to confirm. The price of oil closed higher by over 5%, bouncing from intermediate trendline support around $45. On the economic front, a report on Durable Goods Orders for the month of August came in better than expected. New Orders of Durable Goods were flat (0.0%) last month, exceeding the consensus forecast calling for a decline by 1.9%. Excluding the more volatile transportation component, orders were lower by 0.4%, also better than analyst estimates calling for a decline of 0.5%. Stripping out seasonal adjustments, the Value of Manufacturers’ New Orders for Capital Goods Industries was actually higher by 1.9%, which is light when compared to the average increase for this summer month of 3.2%. The change through the first eight months of the year continues to hold above the average trend, an improvement versus this time last year when signs of struggle in industrial production became apparent. Transportation equipment, which includes aircraft, continues to act as the drag on the overall report; new orders excluding transportation industries is running firmly above the average trend in 2016, helped by an above average gain in August of 7.6%. Gradually, reports continue to reveal that the economy is not on the same path as what we saw in the last half of 2015, which brought upon significant declines in manufacturing conditions that was equivalent to a recessionary period. On the inventory side, manufacturers continue to practice inventory controls, fuelled by the glut of product that was realized into the end of 2015. The increase in manufacturers inventories this year is running around half of the average trend, as attempts are made to bring supply and demand back into balance. Sentiment on Wednesday, as gauged by the put-call ratio, ended bullish at 0.90. Seasonal charts of companies reporting earnings today: S&P 500 Index TSE Composite