US stocks finish higher after volatile session

Wall Street stocks Monday finished a choppy day with strong gains led by petroleum-linked equities as oil prices rose again.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 196.09 points (1.14 percent) to 17,361.04, after earlier falling as low as 17,037.76.
The broad-based S&P 500 jumped 25.86 (1.30 percent) to 2,020.85, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 41.45 (0.89 percent) to 4,676.69.
Analysts said the volatility demonstrated the edginess in the markets.
"People are very nervous," said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.
Energy stocks surged as US oil prices rose for third straight session behind news of lower rig counts and exploration spending cuts.
Dow member Chevron rose 3.3 percent, while oil services company Halliburton surged 3.8 percent.
Dow component ExxonMobil gained 2.5 percent as fourth-quarter earnings were $1.56 per share, 22 cents above analyst expectations. Earnings fell 21.3 percent to $6.6 billion due to lower oil prices and lower petroleum output.
Apple rose 1.3 percent as it prepared to raise some $6.5 billion in a bond issue more than originally expected and at a lower yield than expected, according to reports. The funds will go for stock repurchases, dividend payments and debt repayments.
Tesla Motors gained 3.6 percent after a report called the electric-car manufacturer a beneficiary of a strong dollar because about 70 percent of its components come from overseas.
Food distributor Sysco fell 1.9 percent after it announced a package of divestitures as it seeks regulatory approval of its acquisition of US Foods. Analysts said the divestitures may not be sufficient to win approval from the US Federal Trade Commission for the deal.
E-commerce company Pitney Bowes slumped 7.2 percent as it projected 2015 earnings of $1.85-$2.00 per share. Analysts had forecast $1.99 per share.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 1.68 percent from 1.64 percent Friday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.26 percent from 2.23 percent. Prices and yields move inversely.