U.S. stocks closed higher Monday on encouraging news from the Eurozone and stronger oil prices. In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index hit 53.5 in January 2015, below expectations of 54.5, the weakest reading since January last year. Consumer spending recorded its biggest decline since late 2009 in December, with households appearing to save the extra cash from cheaper gasoline, which could support future consumption. The dollar traded lower against major world currencies. Light sweet crude oil for March delivery finished at $49.57 a barrel, the highest in nearly a month, after touching an intraday high of $50.56 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures lost $3.80 to $1,279.20 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average added 196.09, or 1.14 percent, to 17,361.04. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 25.86, or 1.30 percent, to 2,020.85. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index increased 41.45, or 0.89 percent, to 4,676.69.
