US stocks inched higher on Monday as investors weighed up the latest advance to multi-month highs for crude oil prices and looked ahead to a busy week of central bank meetings.
The S&P 500 and tech-focused Nasdaq Composite each closed less than 0.1 per cent higher in an otherwise choppy trading session after notching minor losses last week. Gains for energy stocks, as the price of crude rose, as well as a 1.7 per cent advance for index heavyweight Apple helped offset declines from the S&P 500’s materials and consumer discretionary sectors.
ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron increased 0.8 per cent, 0.7 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively, as the price of Brent crude surged to almost $95 a barrel. The global oil benchmark settled 0.5 per cent higher to a 10-month higher of $94.43, while US market West Texas Intermediate, rose 0.8 per cent to $91.48.