US stocks rallied on Monday, as investors anticipated oil prices levelling out below their recent highs, softening one of the greatest threats to the US economy's growth.
Boeing Co supported the blue chip Dow, helped by positive comments from a company executive regarding future orders for the company's new 7E7 passenger jet. Cisco Systems Inc led the Nasdaq higher.
Trading was light on the first day of a shortened week, as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq said they will close this Friday to observe the death of former President Ronald Reagan.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil futures edged up but stood below $39, extending last week's retreat after the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised output quotas and the latest US inventory data showed gains.
By early afternoon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 96 points, or 0.94 percent, at 10,339. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 13 points, or 1.11 percent, at 1,135. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index was up 26 points, or 1.29 percent, at 2,004.
Rising oil prices have roiled global stock markets on fears that higher energy prices would hurt growth by eating into consumers' purchasing power.
"More and more it appears the market may have factored in all the negativity, in the wake of all the uncertainty in the Mideast, which to me means we're getting close to a top," said Robert Mikkelsen, senior managing director of equity capital markets at The Advest Group.
Technology stocks jumped, as investors bet that tech companies would be among the first to benefit in the economic recovery, said John Caldwell, chief investment strategist at McDonald Financial Group in Cleveland.
"In an economic recovery, you're going to be drawn to more cyclical sectors like industrials, materials and tech," Caldwell said. "Tech is the biggest of all of those, so it garners the most attention."
Cisco Systems led gainers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, rising 77 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $23.55, sending the Standard & Poor's Communication Equipment Index up 2.8 percent, making it among the top-performing S&P sectors.
Boeing shares rose 98 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $47.88. On Sunday, a Boeing executive said the aerospace company could see orders for its new 7E7 aircraft, its first new plane in a decade, reach 200 this year and total potential sales at 3,500.
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