LONDON: U.S. stocks ended mostly higher buoyed by a rebound in oil prices and a handful of positive first-quarter earnings reports.
Energy stocks pulled ahead of the broader market, as crude prices rose for the fourth session in a row. But stock-trading volumes remained relatively muted, as investors awaited quarterly profit reports from companies in the days ahead.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 59.66 points, or 0.3%, to 18036.70. The S&P 500 gained 3.41, or 0.2%, to 2095.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 10.96, or 0.2%, to 4977.29.
Energy stocks in the S&P 500 rose 1.8%, benefiting from the recent rebound in oil prices. U.S. crude futures gained 2.7% to $53.29 a barrel, their third highest settlement price this year. Oil prices have risen 12% this month, though they are still down 49% from a year ago.
With oil prices stabilizing, investors have increasingly been shifting money into energy stocks that had fallen sharply in recent months.
“A lot of people are starting to poke around” in the energy sector, said Michael Antonelli, an equity sales trader at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee. “You’ve got people digging.”
