US stocks rise broadly, led by gains in the energy sector

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks were moving steadily higher in midday trading today, as investors worked through the first batch of earnings from the first quarter of the year.

News reports that Saudi Arabia and Russia had agreed on oil-production cuts helped boost oil prices, which in turn helped lift energy companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 138 points, or 0.8 percent, to 17,695 as of 12:25 p.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 14 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,056 and the Nasdaq composite rose 21 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,854.

Earnings season got underway on a weak note late Monday as Alcoa reported a 15 percent decline in revenue. Alcoa also had a huge drop in first-quarter profit as aluminum prices fell. Alcoa's stock fell 42 cents, or 4 percent, to $9.31.

Later this week big U.S. banks will start releasing results, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.