U.S. stocks end mixed Monday amid surging oil, as investors tried to lock in gains after a three-week rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67.18 points, or 0.40 percent, to 17,073.95. The S&P 500 edged up 1.77 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,001.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 8.77 points, or 0.19 percent, to 4,708.25.
Oil prices continued to rally Monday after last week's solid gains, with Brent crude settling above 40 U.S. dollars a barrel, as data showed oil producers are cutting output amid low prices. The West Texas Intermediate for April delivery moved up 1.98 U. S. dollars to settle at 37.9 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery increased 2.12 dollars to close at 40.84 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Meanwhile, with no major economic data due out Monday, investors were still digesting Friday's jobs report. U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 242,000 in February, well above market expectations, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 percent, the U.S. Labor Department announced Friday.
In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls declined 3 cents to 25.35 U.S. dollars, following an increase of 12 cents in January. Average hourly earnings have risen by 2.2 percent year on year.
Analysts said the upbeat jobs data pointed to a modest recovery in the U.S. economy, and created conditions for the Federal Reserve to gradually raise interest rates this year.
Overseas, Chinese shares extended their gains into a fifth straight day on Monday, encouraged by pro-growth measures and a rebound in commodity prices. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 0.81 percent to close at 2,897.34 points. European equities moved down Monday despite oil recovery. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange fell 0.46 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index lost 0.27 percent. The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 2.91 percent to end at 17.35 Monday.
In other markets, the U.S. dollar decreased against most major peers on Monday as the rebound of oil prices triggered market bids for riskier currencies including euro. In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1012 dollars from 1.0995 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 113.28 Japanese yen, lower than 114.03 yen of the previous session.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Monday, with the most active gold contract for April delivery going down 6.7 dollars, or 0.53 percent, to settle at 1,264 dollars per ounce.
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