US stocks boosted by gains in oil shares

New York - Gains by petroleum-linked equities lifted US stocks early on Monday at the start of a week that includes earnings from major retailers.

Oil prices jumped after Russia's energy ministry released a joint statement with Saudi Arabia calling for a continuation of a deal to restrain production ahead of an OPEC meeting on May 25.

Chevron rose 1.2%, Halliburton 2.6% and Devon Energy 2.3%.

Analysts were looking ahead to a stream of earnings reports from leading retailers, including Dow members Wal-Mart Stores and Home Depot. Disappointing reports last week from Macy's and other department store chains weighed on stocks.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 20 955.00, up 0.3%.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.3% to 2 397.90, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3% to 6 138.95.

AIG advanced 0.7% as it announced the appointment of restructuring specialist Brian Duperreault as chief executive.

Moody's rose 1.2% after announcing it agreed to buy the Dutch financial information company Bureau van Dijk for $3.2bn.

Patheon, which provides outsourcing services to pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs, shot up 33% after agreeing to be acquired by Thermo Fischer Scientific for $7.2bn. Thermo Fisher rose 0.6%.