Wall Street opens at record level with oil gains

NEW YORK (AA) - Wall Street has begun the new week on a higher note as indexes opened at their record high levels as oil prices continue their increase.

The Dow Jones jumped 55 points to begin the day at 18,631. The S&P 500 gained four points to 2,188, while the Nasdaq was up 10 points to 5,243 at the start of the day.

Crude oil prices continued to rise Monday with the hopes that OPEC countries will freeze or trim their production levels next month in Algeria in order to stabilize the prices in an oversupplied global market.

At the first bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $45.19 a barrel with a 1.6 percent gain, and international benchmark Brent crude was up to $47.59 with a 1.3 percent increase.

While some analysts suggest that the informal meeting in Algeria could rid the glut of supply in the market, others believe OPEC countries will fail to reach a consensus, again, similar to the April meeting in Doha.