U.S. blue chips rose on Monday, led by gains in General Motors Corp., after the company announced an agreement with workers to cut health-care costs, offsetting a regional report of weaker-than-expected manufacturing activity in October, according to Reuters. A sharp rise in crude prices helped limit gains in the broader market as a tropical storm formed in the Caribbean and may enter the Gulf of Mexico, threatening U.S. oil production. GM, the world's largest automaker and a Dow component, also announced it had a wider-than-expected loss in the third quarter. ID:nN17630000 Nevertheless, shares in the automaker jumped 11 percent to $31.25. "GM is not the firm it was in the 1950s, but nonetheless it's still a big industrial firm, so to the extent they can negotiate a better deal and save themselves and manufacturing in general, that's a big positive," said Jon Brorson, managing director of growth equities at Neuberger Berman. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 15.45 points, or 0.15 percent, at 10,302.79. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 1.41 points, or 0.12 percent, at 1,187.98. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 2.16 points, or 0.10 percent, at 2,066.99. In other company news, Citigroup Inc. said third-quarter profit rose 35 percent. Still, profit from continuing operations fell 1 percent to $4.99 billion. ID nN17183103. Citigroup's shares rose 0.9 percent to $45.47. The New York Federal Reserve Bank's "Empire State" index showed overall conditions for manufacturers slipped to 12.08 for October, the lowest level in five months, from September's downwardly revised 15.58. Oil prices climbed as Tropical Storm Wilma formed in the Caribbean Sea and could move into the Gulf of Mexico by the end of the week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. U.S. crude oil futures climbed $1.23 to $63.86 a barrel. Energy shares rose as oil rebounded. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded company, rose 1.2 percent to $59.35. An S&P index of energy companies advanced 1.6 percent. "The fly in the ointment is crude rallying a little bit with Tropical Storm Wilma heading into the Gulf of Mexico," said Brorson at Neuberger Berman.
