NEW YORK — A jump in oil prices helped push U.S. stocks indexes sharply higher for a second day Tuesday, erasing much of their losses from the start of the year.
U.S. benchmark oil surged 7 percent on hopes that a seven-month collapse in prices that had rattled financial markets was ending. All 10 industry sectors of the Standard and Poor’s 500 index rose, led by a 2.8 percent gain in energy shares.
Stocks climbed from the start after a rally in European markets on signs that Greece’s new government won’t press for a write-off of the country’s bailout loans. The benchmark stock index in Athens jumped 11 percent.
U.S. investors also were encouraged by a surge in auto sales last month.
The S&P 500 index climbed 29.18 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,050.03. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 305.36 points, or 1.8 percent, to 17,666.40. The Nasdaq rose 51.05 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4,727.74.
Investors are hoping that oil prices have found a floor after falling as much as 60 percent from their recent peak in June. Prices have risen 19 percent in four days as producers have canceled exploration projects and cut the number of rigs drilling for oil.
“Prices were due for a bounce,” said Matthew Kaufler, a portfolio manager at Federated Investors. Kaufler suspects producers will have to idle more rigs before prices stabilize. “There’s a lot of hope that it’s the bottom, but these things aren’t really obvious.”
The stock market got off to a bad start this year. The S&P 500 sank 3 percent in January, its worse monthly performance in a year.
With Tuesday’s gains, the index is now down just 0.4 percent so far in 2015.
Automakers were among the big winners as investors responded to reports of strong vehicle sales last month. Ford rose 38 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $15.65. General Motors climbed 87 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $33.98.
