NEW YORK (AP) - A jump in oil prices and some deal news helped send stocks up broadly Monday, breaking a three-day losing streak.
Investors bought from the start of trading, pushing oil drillers and other energy stocks up sharply. A bullish oil report from Goldman Sachs helped send benchmark U.S. crude up 3.3 percent to its highest close in six months. All 10 sectors of the Standard and Poor's 500 index rose.
Major indexes were also boosted by news that billionaire investor Warren Buffett had invested in Apple, triggering a 3.7 percent jump in that stock. Apple is the most heavily weighted member of the S&P 500 and so a rise in its stock has an outsize impact on the index.
The S&P 500 rose 20.05 points, or 1 percent, to 2,066.66. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 175.39 points, or 1 percent, to 17,710.71. The Nasdaq composite index gained 57.78 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,775.46
The report from Goldman argued the glut in oil supplies has turned into a "deficit," and so prices could continue to rise. The sunny forecast, plus oil production troubles in Nigeria, pushed U.S. crude up $1.51 to $47.72 a barrel. A plunge in oil prices since mid-2014 has hammered energy company earnings, one reason why overall S&P 500 earnings have not risen since that year.
When oil prices climb, investors think the "earnings drought is at an end," said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer of Exencial Wealth Advisors. "Whatever happens to energy drives all the markets."
Energy shares in the S&P 500 rose 1.6 percent Monday. Marathon Oil jumped 4 percent and Devon Energy also rose 4 percent.
U.S. interest rate policy could impact stocks this week. In addition to planned remarks from several Federal Reserve officials, the Fed is scheduled on Wednesday to release minutes of its last meeting.
Investors will be looking for clues as to whether the central bank is likely to raise rates from low levels that have helped push up stocks and other assets since the financial crisis. A report on Friday showed retail sales rose a solid 3 percent last month compared with the previous year, suggesting the Fed may be more likely to raise rates.