Dow Climbs 150 Points As Soaring Oil Revs Up Energy Stocks

U.S. stocks climbed Tuesday as oil futures were on track to close at their highest levels of 2016, which was giving a lift to energy shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 154 points, or 0.9% to 17,710.23.

The S&P 500 index was up 15.74 points, or 0.8%, at 2,057.75, after slipping into the red about an hour into the day's trading action. Gains in the broad-market index were led by a 2.9% rise in energy stocks and a 0.5% rise in health care.

A decline in Juniper Networks(JNPR) were one of the few sour spots in stocks after the company's results for the quarter ended in March disappointed. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/juniper-networks-cuts-guidance-for-march-quarter-2016-04-11-17485374)Juniper's shares were down 7.6% in recent trade.

The decline in shares of the telecom-equipment maker had been weighing on the broader tech sector earlier in the session. "Certainly Juniper isn't one of the big leaders [in tech] but it has dragged a few of them down," said Paul Nolte, a portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management.

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), which competes directly with Juniper, was the worst-performer among the blue-chip gauge's components and one of the few Dow stock in the red outside of McDonald's Corp. (MCD), which was less 0.1% lower in recent trade.

However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was up 23.32 points, or 0.5%, to 4,856, shaking off the tech sector's early shakiness.

All three benchmarks fell on Monday, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-rise-as-dollar-steadies-investors-wait-for-alcoa-2016-04-11) erasing early gains in afternoon trade as investors braced for the start of what's expected to be an ugly earnings season. Wall Street is worried that poor performance in corporate results could fuel a downdraft in stocks. Some of those fears about poor quarterly results played out late Monday after the close of trading with closely watched first-quarter earnings from Alcoa(AA), which posted a 92% drop (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alcoa-hurt-by-weak-aluminum-prices-2016-04-11-174853616) in profit and lowered its 2016 outlook for the aerospace market. Its shares were down 4.4% Tuesday.

Read: Alcoa's ugly outlook is spooking Wall Street (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alcoas-ugly-outlook-is-spooking-wall-street-2016-04-12)

More weakness could be ahead. Many expect financial-sector earnings to be particularly weak as banks are squeezed by the fallout from low oil prices and low interest rates (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-why-banks-are-the-black-sheep-of-this-earnings-season-2016-04-11).

Analysts are expecting J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-expect-from-jp-morgan-chase-earnings-2016-04-11).(JPM)to report its first year-over-year earnings decline (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-expect-from-jp-morgan-chase-earnings-2016-04-11) in five quarters ahead of the bell on Wednesday.

Read:Here's why banks are the black sheep of this earnings season (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-why-banks-are-the-black-sheep-of-this-earnings-season-2016-04-11)

What to watch: S&P 500 earnings for the first quarter are forecast to slide 8.3% year-over-year, S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a report. That would mark a third quarterly decline in a row, it said.

"Such a steep decline in growth hasn't been recorded since Q2 2009," the report said.

Only three of the 10 S&P sectors are projected to see a rise in earnings, with the consumer-discretionary, telecommunications and health-care sectors leading for the fourth quarter in a row, S&P said.

The pace of earnings releases continues to ramp up on Tuesday, with transportation company CSX Corp. (CSX) slated to post results after the bell.

Oil rally: After a wobbly start to the day, oil futures spiked Tuesday on hopes that key oil producers will agree on an output freeze at their meeting this Sunday and as reports pointed to a possible output freeze between Saudi Arabia and Russia (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-soars-more-than-3-on-reports-of-saudi-russian-output-freeze-2016-04-12), two of the world's largest crude producers, which could help lay the groundwork for a broader accord among major oil producers.

U.S.-traded crude oil (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-dip-as-investors-cash-in-on-overnight-surge-2016-04-12) and Brent crude , the global benchmark, rose and WTI touched its highest level of 2016, helping lift shares of energy-related companies, led by Transocean Ltd. (RIG), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC).

Data and Fed speakers: Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker told the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce that it makes sense to delay another interest rate increase (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-harker-backs-delaying-another-interest-rate-hike-until-inflation-picks-up-2016-04-12) until inflation picks ups. Harker isn't a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee this year.

A weaker dollar and higher oil prices helped drive U.S. import prices higher in March. Data about the federal budget is expected at 2 p.m. Eastern.

The NFIB small-business index slipped to a two-year low in March (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/small-business-sentiment-falls-to-two-year-low-nfib-says-2016-04-12).

San Francisco Fed President John Williams, also a nonvoter, will speak in San Francisco at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, another nonvoter, will speak about "economic leadership in an uncertain world" at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington at 4 p.m. Eastern.

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday again lowered its estimate for global growth. Volatile financial markets and slowing momentum among developing economies were among the factors (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/imf-cuts-global-growth-forecast-warns-against-nationalism-2016-04-12) cited by the IMF.

Movers and shakers: Wholesale distributor Fastenal Co.(FAST) reported its profit was 1.1% lower in the first quarter of the year amid weakness in its core business of making fasteners. Its shares slumped 3.3%.

Perry Ellis International Inc. (PERY) shares rose 3.9% after the company said its margins benefited from its domestic menswear business (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/perry-ellis-narrows-loss-as-margins-expand-2016-04-12).

Shares of Marathon Oil Corp.(MRO) rose 12.4% after the oil production company said late Monday that it plans to sell $950 million worth of assets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/marathon-plans-950-million-asset-sale-2016-04-11), and vowed to focus on lower-risk U.S. resources to protect its balance sheet against the oil price slump.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (HTZ) shares were down 0.1% in recent trade after the car rental company late Monday cut its 2016 outlook on U.S. car rental revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hertz-cuts-2016-outlook-on-us-car-rental-revenue-2016-04-11-84852736).

Other markets: Asia markets finished mostly higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nikkei-lifted-by-weaker-yen-as-shanghai-stocks-slip-2016-04-12), with Japan's Nikkei 225 index getting a boost from a weaker yen (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-rises-after-japans-finance-minister-fires-a-warning-shot-over-yen-2016-04-12). The dollar advanced against its main rivals (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-rises-after-japans-finance-minister-fires-a-warning-shot-over-yen-2016-04-12). Gold prices were little-changed.

European stocks finished higher on Tuesday, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-choppy-as-italian-banks-rise-luxury-shares-pull-back-2016-04-12) rising for a third session as the Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed up 0.5%.

By Joseph Adinolfi and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch