Stocks Ended at a Six-week High ahead of Earnings

U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Monday, hitting six-week high, as investors looked ahead to a round of quarterly corporate earnings results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 250.62 points, or 0.88%, to 28,837.52. The S&P 500 added 57.09 points, or 1.64%, to 3,534.22. The Nasdaq Composite gained 296.32 points, or 2.56%, to 11,876.26.

Crude-oil futures finished Monday at their lowest price in a week, with production in Libya, Norway and the Gulf of Mexico set to recover. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery fell $1.17, or 2.9%, to settle at $39.43 a barrel. December Brent crude lost $1.13, or 2.6%, at $41.72 a barrel.

Third-quarter corporate earnings season begins in earnest this week with a host of big banks reporting results, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Citigroup (C) on Tuesday.