Stocks Ended Higher, Led by Financial, Industrials

U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, helped by Financial and industrial shares, as investors looked ahead to a strong quarterly earnings season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 320.11 points, or 1.31%, to 24,776.59. The S&P 500 gained 24.37 points, or 0.88%, to 2,784.17. The Nasdaq Composite added 67.81 points, or 0.88%, to 7,756.20.

Crude-oil benchmarks finished higher Monday, as traders fretted over production disruptions in Libya and Venezuela and expectations for big declines in Iranian exports. August West Texas Intermediate crude climbed by a nickel, or less than 0.1%, to settle at $73.85 a barrel. September Brent crude added 96 cents, or 1.2%, to $78.07 a barrel.

Americans increased their borrowing in May at the fastest pace in a year and a half, boosted by a big increase in credit card borrowing. Consumer debt rose $24.5 billion in May after an increase of $10 billion in April, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.