NEW YORK — After an indecisive day, stocks turned around in the last minutes of trading Monday and managed to end with modest gains.
Last week, the market had its worst drop since mid-August, and for much of the day it looked like the losses would continue. Near midday the Standard & Poor’s 500 index hit a two-month low. But oil prices recovered from last week’s rout and the broader market rose over the last hour of trading, finishing at its highest levels of the day.
The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 103.29 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,368.50. The S&P 500 index gained 9.57 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,021.94. Nine of the 10 sectors on the S&P 500 finished higher, although most of the gains were small. The Nasdaq composite index added 18.76 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,952.23.
Early in the day, the price of oil fell below $35 a barrel for the first time since early 2009. However oil recovered and rose about 2 percent, breaking a streak of six straight losses.
U.S. crude gained 69 cents at $36.31 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, fell a penny to $37.92 a barrel in London.
The gain sent oil companies broadly higher. Exxon Mobil rose $1.69, or 2.3 percent, to $76.03 and Chevron added $2.89, or 3.3 percent, to $89.33.
Natural gas prices plunged to the lowest level since September 2001 as warm weather continues to erode demand for home heating. The falling price hurt natural gas companies. Range Resources sank 89 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $21.86 and Southwestern Energy slumped 57 cents, or 9.7 percent, to $5.33.
Natural gas fell 9.6 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $1.894 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Stephen Schork, an independent analyst and trader, said industrial demand for natural gas in the U.S. and from Canada has tumbled. That means the biggest remaining source of demand is for consumers who use gas to heat their homes. But it’s been a warm winter so far.
“This weather’s going to persist through the rest of this month,” Schork said. However he said prices will recover if it gets colder in January.
In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline declined 2.6 cents, or 2 percent, to $1.256 a gallon and heating oil lost 1.8 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $1.128 a gallon.
Activist investor Daniel Loeb is challenging the combination of chemicals makers DuPont and Dow Chemical, announced on Friday. Loeb, who owns a stake in Dow Chemical, questioned the timing of the deal and wants Dow CEO Andrew Liveris removed. Dow’s board says it stands by the proposal.
On Friday Dow and DuPont agreed to combine into a $130 billion company then split into three smaller businesses. Loeb has pushed Dow to split its specialty chemical and petrochemical businesses.
