US stocks rose today as surging oil prices spurred buying of heavyweight oil shares and investors welcomed better-than expected earnings from Dell and Target.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 80.45 points (0.64 per cent) at 12,560.03 in closing trade.
The S&P 500 - a broader measure of the markets - advanced 11.68 points (0.88 per cent) to 1340.66, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite leaped 31.79 points (1.14 per cent) to 2815.00.
Dow component ExxonMobil, the biggest of the blue chips, climbed 1.8 per cent to $81.84 as crude oil rose more than $US3 a barrel in New York.
Chevron, also on the Dow, soared 2.4 per cent to $US102.86.
