US stock market opens higher with rise in oil prices

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - A jump in oil prices saw a corresponding rise in the U.S. stock market Monday.

The Dow Jones rose 51 points to begin the day at 18,919. The S&P 500 added nine points to reach 2,190 and the Nasdaq rose 16 points to start the day at 5,337.

President Vladimir Putin indicated Sunday that Russia would be prepared to freeze oil production in cooperation with OPEC members, who are due to meet on Nov. 30 to discuss a proposal to limit output levels so as to trim oversupply in the global market and raise prices.

Russia is not an OPEC member but is a major oil supplier and coordination with OPEC is crucial for any potential deal to have an effect.

At the first bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was trading at $47.70 a barrel -- a 2.9 percent rise -- and international benchmark Brent crude was at $48.28 per barrel, up 3 percent.