Oil Lifts Stocks as Madoff Sentenced

Wall Street appears to be trying to make the most of a short week.

Stocks were higher Monday, as traders cheered a jump in commodities prices and closed the book on one of the largest Ponzi schemes in modern history. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 91 points to 8529. The Nasdaq picked up 6 at 1844, and the S&P 500 gained 8 at 927.

Energy stocks led the market, as oil prices rose despite new concern over demand. By 4:14 p.m., crude traded up $2.31 on the day at $71.47 a barrel. The increase came despite a 3.7% cut to the International Energy Agency's medium-term forecast for total world oil demand. The impact of the recession and energy-efficiency efforts are contributing factors in the weaker outlook. The Paris-based IEA said it expects global oil demand to average 87.90 million barrels a day by 2013, down by 3.35 million barrels a day from its December forecast.

Financials, telecoms and consumer cyclicals also performed particularly well.

Though it may not have affected the broader market, many traders cheered the fate of Bernanrd Madoff, whose $65 billion Ponzi scheme culminated Monday in a 150-year prison sentence. "Objectively speaking, the fraud here was staggering," Judge Denny Chin said.

This is a busy week for economic data. The April reading of the Case-Shiller home price index is scheduled to be released tomorrow. On Wednesday, the Institute for Supply Management will release its monthly manufacturing index. The June jobs report is scheduled to be released Thursday, instead of the usual Friday, when the markets will be closed in observance of the July 4 holiday.

In Asia, stocks started the day with gains but later fell. LG Display, the world's second-largest maker of LCD screens, said demand for its products had increased by more than expected, lifting the firm's stock. Early gains were reversed by mixed economic news from Japan; the country's Trade Ministry said industrial output rose in May, up 5.9% over the same period a year ago, the biggest year-over-year gain since 1953. However, output growth fell short of expectations (6.9%). A separate government report showed retail sales declined in May, down 2.8% from a year earlier, as the labor market remained weak.

European stocks posted small gains Monday morning, as last week's fears about a faltering economic recovery waned. German telephone company Deutsche Telekom (DT) rose 1.2% on reports that mobile phone company Vodafone (VOD) is considering a bid for its T- Mobile division.

The dollar gained ground on an announcement Monday by Chinese central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan that China does not intend to change its foreign currency policy in the near-term. The comment followed a call by China Friday for a new global reserve currency, which had sent the dollar into its biggest decline against the euro in a month.