Energy stocks push up indexes

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Energy stocks led indexes higher Monday, the first day of trading since the growing unrest in Egypt caused the largest one-day drop in the broad stock market in more than three months.

Exxon Mobil Corp. gained 2.1 percent after it reported its most-profitable quarter since 2008. Massey Energy Co. jumped 9.8 percent after Alpha Natural Resources Inc. said that it would buy the coal producer in a $7.1 billion deal. Alpha Natural Resources fell 7.2 percent.

The Massey deal suggests “maybe coal isn’t dead,” said Kim Caughey Forrest, equity-research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. It also raises hopes for similar deals in the future, she said.

Concerns remained over Egypt’s impact on oil prices. The country is not a major producer of oil, but it plays a key role in the industry because it controls the Suez Canal, a major route for oil tankers and cargo ships. Crude oil prices rose 3 percent to $92.19 a barrel.

Nine of the 10 company groups that make up the S&P index rose. Energy companies gained 2.6 percent, the most of any group.