* Oil rises, lifts energy stocks
* Home builders' shares rise after KB Home's upgrade
* Dow up 0.9 pct, S&P 500 up 0.8 pct, Nasdaq up 0.7 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news click [STXNEWS/US]
(Updates to midday, changes byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, June 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday
as higher oil prices boosted energy shares, and signs of life
in overseas markets renewed investor optimism about the
prospects for an economic recovery.
Crude oil futures CLc1 jumped more than 3 percent to
above $71 per barrel after Nigerian militants said they
attacked the country's infrastructure, raising supply concerns
that helped offset lackluster demand reflected in U.S.
government data. Oil prices also got a lift as improved
sentiment about the U.S. economy drove stocks higher and
increased hopes for growth in energy demand. (For story,
please see [ID:nN29428239]
Energy shares gained, with Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) up 1.9
percent at $70.35, and Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) up 1.9
percent at $65.52.
Shanghai stocks .SSEC reached a one-year closing high
for the fourth straight session as signs of a Chinese economic
recovery and ample liquidity boosted the market, bolstering
investor sentiment.
"On a very short-term basis, the American investor is
taking comfort from international markets, which have had
decent activity," said Joseph Battipaglia, market strategist
at Stifel Nicolaus in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
"The commodities trade is obviously still on, with oil
prices breaking through $70 again."
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 78.29
points, or 0.93 percent, to 8,516.68. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index .SPX rose 7.67 points, or 0.83 percent, to 926.57.
The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC added 12.84 points, or 0.70
percent, to 1,851.05.
The S&P 500 is up 16.1 percent for the quarter ending on
Tuesday, despite a gain of just 0.81 percent so far in June.
It could be the best quarter for the broad index since the
fourth quarter of 1998, when it jumped nearly 21 percent.
Shares of home builder KB Home (KBH.N) shot up 6.4 percent
to $14.28 after Credit Suisse raised its rating on the
company's stock, citing stronger orders and more attractive
valuation. The Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index
.DJUSHB advanced 1.5 percent.
Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), up 2.3 percent at $23.88, gave a
boost to both the Dow industrials and the Nasdaq after
Deutsche Bank raised its price target on the stock to $30 from
$22.
But the biotech sector limited gains in the Nasdaq 100
.NDX after Deutsche Bank cut its rating on Biogen Idec
(BIIB.O) to "hold" from "buy," saying the shares were now
fairly valued. The stock fell 5.9 percent to $47.10.
(Editing by Jan Paschal)
