NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. indexes held near record highs early Monday after big gains for energy stocks offset losses in other areas of the market. Oil prices soared after more nations agreed to production cuts in an attempt to mitigate a global oversupply of crude.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was little changed at 2,259. The Dow Jones industrial average added 42 points, or 0.2 percent, to 19,801. The Nasdaq composite fell 18 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,425. All three closed at record highs on Friday. More stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange.
OIL’S WELL: Crude jumped to its highest price since the summer of 2015 after OPEC persuaded 11 other oil-producing nations to cut production. The agreement is intended to further raise the price of oil after a two-year slump that has hurt the government finances of Russia, Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers.
The price of U.S. benchmark crude jumped $2.17, or 4.2 percent, to $53.67 a barrel in New York. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose $2.33, or 4.3 percent, to $56.66
That helped to drive stocks higher across the oil-producing industry. National Oilwell Varco jumped 7.7 percent to $42.83, Transocean rose 5.2 percent to $16.23 and Marathon Oil added 4.7 percent to $19.11