U.S. stocks tick up on rising oil

U.S. stocks traded sharply higher around midday Monday as investors cheered over a strong rebound in oil prices.

At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 155.05 points, or 0.88 percent, to 17,690.37. The S&P 500 gained 18.33 points, or 0.90 percent, to 2,064.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index leapt 54.57 points, or 1.16 percent, to 4,772.25.

Oil prices surged Monday, with both U.S. oil and Brent crude jumping over 2 percent around midday, as Nigeria's output has fallen to its lowest level in decades following several acts of sabotage.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs said Monday that it saw U.S. oil trading as high as 50 U.S. dollars per barrel in the second half of 2016, although it cautioned that oil prices would rise modestly in 2017.

On the economic front, the May 2016 Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated that business activity declined for New York manufacturers.

The headline general business conditions index decreased nineteen points to minus 9.0, missing a market consensus of a 7.0-percent gain.

Builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes remained unchanged in May at a level of 58 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index.

On Friday, U.S. stocks ended lower as Wall Street digested a batch of generally positive economic reports. Endit