The price of oil finished nearly unchanged as hopes for an OPEC production cut offset an Energy Department report showing that crude inventories increased far more than expected last week.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell 3 cents to close at $74.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 37 cents to close at $78.10 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
In other energy futures trading on the NYMEX:
o Wholesale gasoline rose 0.1 cent to close at $2.044 a gallon
o Heating oil fell 2.2 cents to close at $2.359 a gallon.
o Natural gas rose 12.7 cents to close at $4.371 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In metals trading, the price of gold fell $3.20 to $1,193.90 an ounce, silver rose 12 cents to $16.29 an ounce and copper rose four cents to $3.05 a pound.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.35 percent from 2.32 percent late Tuesday.
Among the stocks making big moves Wednesday:
o Cliffs Natural Resources sank 20 percent on news that the mining company is seeking to exit its Eastern Canadian iron ore operations, including the Bloom Lake mine. The stock fell $2.04 to $8.17.
o Oplink Communications jumped 13.8 percent after the optical networking equipment company said it will be acquired by Koch Industries in an all-cash deal worth $445 million. Oplink shares rose $2.93 to $24.18.