NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are wandering Monday to start what might be a peaceful stretch following weeks of gains that rallied Wall Street to the edge of what’s called a “bull market.”
The S&P 500 was 0.2% greater in early trading, and if it surfaces the day where it is, it will be more than 20% above where it was in mid-October. Such a rally would imply the stock market hasactually changed from its freezing “bear market,” where Wall Street’s primary step of health fell more than 20% over 9 months, into a effective bull.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2 points, or les than 0.1%, at 33,765, as of 9: 47 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% greater.
Some of the sharpest action was in the oil market, where crude acquired after Saudi Arabia stated it would cut back production in hopes of enhancing its cost. A barrel of U.S. crude increased 1.3% to $72.69, and a barrel of Brent unrefined, which is the worldwide basic, climbedup 2% to $77.65.
Both were close to $120 a year ago, and their costs haveactually fallen on concerns that a strapped worldwide economy would burn less fuel. Monda