U.S. stocks rise as energy companies and Apple move higher

People walk past the electronic board showing the Nikkei stock index, left, in Tokyo, Thursday, June 16, 2016. (AP / Shuji Kajiyama)

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks are rising Monday as energy companies rise in tandem with the price of oil, which is trading at a three-month high. Apple is climbing after new reports of fires affecting Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phone, which competes with Apple's iPhone. That's sending technology stocks higher.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 97 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 18,337 as of 12:40 p.m. Eastern time. The index rose as much as 159 points earlier. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 2,164. The Nasdaq composite added 41 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 5,333.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.33, or 2.7 per cent, to $51.14 a barrel in New York while Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained $1.13, or 2.2 per cent, to $53.06 a barrel in London. Exxon Mobil climbed $1.56, or 1.8 per cent, to $88.30 and Murphy Oil added 64 cents, or 2.2 per cent, to $30.16.

SHOT IN THE ARM: Drugmaker Mylan gained $3.11, or 8.7 per cent, to $39.05. On Friday the company agreed to pay $465 million to settle allegations it overcharged the Medicaid program for its EpiPen allergy shot. Legislators and federal health authorities had said Mylan wrongly classified EpiPen as a generic drug instead of a brand-name one, which meant Mylan paid lower rebates to federal and state Medicaid programs. The stock is down 20 per cent since late August.

BRISTOL BUMPED: Bristol-Myers Squibb lost $5.55, or 10 per cent, to $49.89 after the company reported new data from a study of its drug Opdivo in lung cancer patients. Rival Merck rose $1.13, or 1.8 per cent, to $63.91 as investors were pleased with the outcome of a study of its cancer treatment Keytruda. Bristol-Myers stock has dropped 34 per cent since the company announced initial results from that trial in early August while Merck has gained 10 per cent.

TWITTER BLOCKED: Social media network Twitter continued to fall as investors grew less optimistic that the company will be sold. Twitter sank $2.67, or 13.5 per cent, to $17.18. It fell 20 per cent Thursday on reports that possible buyers including Apple and Alphabet had decided not to make offers. Salesforce.com, which investors believe is a possible buyer, rose $4.25, or 6 per cent, to $75.16.

SAMSUNG'S PAIN, APPLE'S GAIN: Apple climbed $2.24, or 2 per cent, to $116.30 as investors hope it will be able to sell more iPhones as competitor Samsung faced new problems with its Galaxy Note 7. Samsung said it has changed its production of the phones following reports that some of its replacement phones are overheating and catching fire, just as the original version of the phone did before Samsung recalled it last month. Samsung did not confirm or deny a report from a Korean news agency that it suspended production of the Note 7 phone.

PESOS AND PRESIDENTS: The Mexican peso surged to 18.8815 from 19.2961 following a calamitous weekend for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump has criticized Mexico and its trade agreements with the U.S., so the peso has become something of an indicator of how investors feel about the election. The currency has tended to weak when investors feel Trump is doing better and gets stronger when investors feel more confident in Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's chances.

The U.S. buys about 80 per cent of Mexico's exports, which gives it a big influence on the Mexican economy. The peso has fallen sharply this year but is currently the strongest it's been in about a month.

DOVER DIVES: Manufacturer Dover forecast a smaller profit and a bigger decline in revenue because of weaker spending in several industries and production problems in its retail refrigeration unit. The company also said its purchase of British company Wayne Fueling Systems won't close until early next year because regulators in the United Kingdom are still reviewing the deal. The stock gave up $4.93, or 6.8 per cent, to $67.31.

OVERSEAS: Germany's DAX rose 1.3 per cent and the CAC-40 in France was 1.1 per cent higher. The FTSE 100 in London rose 0.8 per cent. The Kospi in South Korea rose 0.1 per cent. Japan's markets were closed for a holiday.

CURRENCY: The dollar rose to 103.66 yen from 103.06 yen Friday. The euro fell to $1.1152 from $1.1182, and the British pound fell to $1.2383 from $1.2435. Bond trading was closed for the Columbus Day holiday.