Stocks Higher in Early Trade
(AP) -- U.S. stock indexes moved higher in early trading Monday, led by gains in banks and other financial companies. Technology stocks were also among the biggest gainers. Energy stocks lagged the broader market.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 10 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,448 as of 10:04 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 99 points, or 0.5 percent, to 21,493. The Nasdaq composite rose 27 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,292. The Russell 2000 of small-company stocks rose 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,417.
BANKING ON FINANCIALS: Investors bid up shares in several financial companies. Goldman Sachs Group gained $2.78, or 1.3 percent, to $219.97. American Express rose 98 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $83.20.
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TECH CLIMBS: Technology sector companies were also among the biggest gainers in early trading. Micron Technology led the pack, gaining $1.21, or 3.8 percent, to $32.94. HP added 38 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $18.18.
MUSICAL CHAIRS: Pandora Media rose 4 percent following reports that the streaming music service's founder and CEO Tim Westergren is stepping down. The stock picked up 32 cents to $8.60.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude was up 15 cents to $43.16 a barrel in New York. Brent, the international standard, was down 2 cents to $45.52 a barrel in London. Oil prices last week hit their lowest point since August before rebounding but still are about 15 percent below where they were a year ago on expectations supplies exceed demand.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 111.47 yen from 111.26 yen late Friday. The euro strengthened to $1.1211 from $1.1199.
BOND YIELDS: Bond prices rose. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 2.13 percent from 2.14 percent late Friday.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: In Europe, major indexes moved higher after a strong German economic survey reinforced hopes that the region's recovery is gaining momentum. Germany's DAX was 0.7 percent higher, while France's CAC-40 was up 1 percent. The FTSE 100 in London gained 0.6 percent. In Asia, several market indexes notched gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.7 percent, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.1 percent. Seoul's Kospi gained 0.4 percent. Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 rose 0.1 percent. Benchmarks in New Zealand, Taiwan and Bangkok also gained.
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