US stock market opens higher

NEW YORK (AA) – The U.S. stock market opened on a higher note Monday to start the new week with gains amid the increase in oil prices.

The Dow Jones rose 66 points to begin the day at 18,190 and the S&P 500 was up seven points at 2,146. The Nasdaq increased 19 points to start the day at 5,263.

At the first bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 0.8 percent at $43.95 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude traded at $46.09 a barrel -- a 0.7 percent increase.

The market and investors will focus this week on the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, which will be announced on Wednesday after the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting.