NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market opened with small gains on Monday, keeping major indexes at record levels. Renewed confidence that stimulus measures from global central banks will help spur economic growth is supporting demand for stocks.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose six points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,069 as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed three points, less than 0.1 percent, to 17,813. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.4 percent, to 4,731.
EUROPE: Sentiment was supported in European markets by a rise in the closely watched Ifo business confidence survey, the first after six months of declines. The increase suggests Europe’s largest economy may improve after a weak summer, though growth is likely to remain subdued.
MARKET BOOST: Germany’s DAX rose 0.7 percent to 9,804 while France’s CAC-40 gained 0.9 percent to 4,385. London’s FTSE 100 dipped 0.1 percent to 6,747.
OPEC: Traders are also watching a meeting in Vienna on Thursday of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for a possible agreement to cut production to shore up prices. The price of crude has tumbled by 25 percent since the summer as producers kept output stable while demand in Europe and other markets weakened.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 29 cents to $76.22 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
BONDS AND CURRENCIES: U.S. government bond prices edged lower. The yield on the 10-year benchmark note climbed to 2.33 percent, from 2.31 percent Friday. The dollar continued its ascent against the Japanese yen. The U.S. currency rose to 118.21 yen from Friday’s 117.79 yen. The euro rose to $1.2408 from $1.2360.
