Dow hits another record

Photo: The Canadian Press

U.S. stocks are resuming their climb Monday, led by gains in energy companies and banks, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to another record high. Technology companies, which have weakened since the presidential election, recovered some of their recent losses. European stocks were mostly higher, but Italy's market slipped after Italian voters rejected constitutional changes and the country's premier said he would resign.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 49 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 19,219 as of 1:30 p.m. Earlier it rose as high as 19,274. The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped 13 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 2,204. The Nasdaq composite climbed 50 points, or 1 per cent, to 5,305. Small-company stocks on again outpaced the rest of the market.

RUSSELL RISING: Small-company stocks rose more than the rest of the market. The Russell 2000 jumped 19 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 1,333. Thanks to a big rally in November, the Russell is up 17 per cent this year, more than twice as much as the S&P 500. Smaller companies, which are more domestically focused than large multinationals, could stand to benefit more than larger companies from a pickup in U.S. growth.

ENERGY: Oil prices rose for the fourth day in a row and reached their highest level since July 2015. Benchmark U.S. oil rose 22 cents to $51.90 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 49 cents to $54.95 a barrel in London.

The rising price of oil sent energy companies higher. ConocoPhillips picked up $1.30, or 2.7 per cent, to $49.42 and Hess rose $1.91, or 3.3 per cent, to $59.83. Chevron, which has surged 27 per cent this year, rose $1.39, or 1.2 per cent, to $114.39.

The price of oil has surged since OPEC countries finalized a deal that will trim oil production starting in January.