Oil price rises, and stock prices do, too

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks jumped Monday as the price of oil surged again, lifting energy stocks as well as mining and chemicals companies. Indexes in Europe and Asia also rose, as investors hoped for stimulus to strengthen the economies of those regions and boost sales of energy, building materials, and other goods.

The price of U.S. oil rose more than 6 percent after a group of oil-importing countries said energy stockpiles would grow at a slower pace. Metals companies Alcoa and Freeport-McMoRan climbed as investors hoped a stronger global economy will mean greater demand for their products. Amazon led a rally in consumer stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 228.67 points, or 1.4 percent, to 16,620.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 27.72 points, or 1.5 percent, to 1,945.50. The Nasdaq composite index added 66.18 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,570.61.

This year, stocks have moved up and down with the price of oil, which means they have mostly gone down. On Monday, the International Energy Agency that it doesn't expect oil prices to recover significantly until 2017, but it expects slower growth in global supplies.

Benchmark U.S. crude climbed $1.84, or 6.2 percent, to $31.48 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, rose $1.68, or 5.1 percent, to $34.69 a barrel in London. The price of wholesale gasoline increased almost 6 percent and heating oil rose 3 percent.

Chevron gained $2.32, or 2.7 percent, to $88.82 and Marathon added 76 cents, or 11.3 percent, to $7.49.

Monday's gains bought the Dow and the S&P 500 to their highest levels since Jan. 6. Still, both indexes are down almost 5 percent this year.

Chemicals and mining companies have also struggled as investors worried that the global economy is losing steam. Those stocks climbed Monday, with aluminum producer Alcoa up $1.03, or 13.2 percent, to $8.91. That was its biggest one-day gain in almost seven years.

Metals producer and oil and gas company Freeport-McMoRan added $1.01, or 14.6 percent, to $7.93. Freeport-McMoRan stock has nearly doubled in value since mid-January, when it hit its lowest price in a decade.

Finance ministers from the Group of 20 wealthy and developing economies are also meeting this week, and investors hope that will lead to moves to strengthen the world economy.

Starbucks, too, rose after making changes to its customer rewards program. The coffee chain said shoppers who spend less money won't get as many freebies. Its stock added $1.20, or 2.1 percent, to $58.87.