U.S. stocks open higher on stronger oil prices, Greece news

U.S. stocks opened higher Tuesday as energy shares leaded the rally, and investors were also boosted by encouraging developments in the euro zone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 150 points in the early New York trading, with Exxon Mobil leading with gains of more than 2 percent.

Oil prices continued to rise as traders expected that low prices will slow the production. Light, sweet crude for March delivery gained 1.33 U.S. dollars to settle at 49.57 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday.

On the economic front, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Monday that he will negotiate a new debt agreement for his country with the European Union. Such news out of Greece soothed investors to some extent.

The U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday that new orders for manufactured goods, which have declined for five consecutive months, continued its decrease in December, down 16.4 billion dollars, or 3.4 percent, to 471.5 billion dollars. This followed a 1.7 percent November decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 2.3 percent.

The United Parcel Service announced fourth-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share of 1.25 dollars, flat to the same period of 2013. The company announced its expected fourth-quarter results on Jan. 23, which were consistent with today's final results. Shares ticked up 0.51 percent in minutes following the opening.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 157.12 points, or 0.91 percent, to 17,518.16. The S&P 500 gained 16.69 points, or 0.83 percent, to 2,037.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 29.19 points, or 0.62 percent, to 4,705.88.

U.S. stocks surged after volatile trading on Monday despite soft economic data, with the three benchmark indices closing almost at their session highs, as investor enthusiasm was ignited by rebounding oil prices. Endi