1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks end mixed after heavy sell-off

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday, as Wall Street tried to rebound from last week's sharp decline amid diving oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.12 points, or 0.32 percent, to 16,398.57. The S&P 500 inched up 1.64 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,923.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 5.64 points, or 0.12 percent, to 4,637.99.

Last week, the three major indices posted steep losses, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq plummeting 6.2 percent, 6.0 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively.

Oil prices plummeted on Monday following last week's rout, with both the U.S. oil and Brent crude plunging more than 5 percent, as worries about a global supply glut persisted.

Dragged by the slumping oil prices, the energy sector tumbled 2.09 percent as the biggest loser among the S&P 500's ten sectors.

Meanwhile, with no major economic data due out Monday, investors were still sifting through Friday's jobs report.

U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 292,000 in December, well above market estimates of 200,000, and unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent.

Overseas, Chinese stocks nosedived on weak market sentiment Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index sinking 5.33 percent, after the suspension of the stock market "circuit breaker" mechanism from last Friday.

European equities also pared early gains to close lower on Monday, with British benchmark FTSE 100 Index decreasing 0.69 percent, as concerns over commodities dampened investor sentiment. Endit