US stocks were higher at the start of a holiday-shortened week, with the S&P 500 rising 0.4%, the Nasdaq advancing 0.5%, and the Dow Jones gaining nearly 170 points. The energy sector led the market, supported by rising oil prices amid escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela. Consumer discretionary and materials stocks also posted gains, alongside technology shares, particularly AI-related names, which continued last week’s rebound. Improving confidence in the economic outlook and corporate earnings further underpinned market sentiment. Utilities, by contrast, were the worst-performing sector. Investors are also looking ahead to delayed economic data due tomorrow, including the second estimate of GDP growth. Nvidia gained 1.3%, Micron Technology rose 2%, and Oracle added 1.4%. Other mega-cap stocks were mixed, with Amazon up 0.2%, Meta climbing 1.9%, and Tesla surging 2.7%, while Microsoft fell 0.5%, Apple slipped 0.2%, Alphabet declined 0.2%, and Broadcom eased 0.4%.