LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - US stocks rose on Monday as investors seemed unfazed by a decline in oil prices after global producers failed to reach an agreement to freeze output.
At 1526 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29%, the S&P 500 increased 0.31% and the Nasdaq gained 0.32%.

Members and non-members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries held talks in Doha on Sunday but did not come to an agreement to curb oil production which the market had been expecting.

The talks fell apart after Saudi Arabia reiterated that it would not cap output unless Iran agreed to do the same. Iran, which did not attend the negotiations, has been reluctant to come to such an agreement since it has recently been relieved of sanctions.

"This string of events almost suggests that the major players in the cartel had no real intention of curbing production, but simply exploited the explosive levels of volatility to manufacture speculative boosts in prices based on false expectations," said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga.

"Sentiment remains bearish towards oil, and with market participants losing hope in the ability of OPEC to work together in battling the excessive oversupply in the markets; bearish investors have been provided a platform to install another round of selling. "

In more uplifting news, Kuwait's crude production dropped more than half on Sunday as thousands of its oil industry employees began an open-ended strike over government plans to cut wages. The nation's output was 1.1 million barrels a day, down from the usual 3 million it produces.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.9% to $39.20 per barrel and Brent dropped 2.5% to $42.04 per barrel at 1532 BST.

In macroeconomic data, US homebuilders' confidence held steady in April. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index was unchanged at 58, missing forecasts for a reading of 59.

On the corporate front, Morgan Stanley reported a 54% plunge in first quarter net profits as low oil prices hit the bank's trading business.

Netflix and IBM are due to report after the close.

Yahoo's shares edged lower as the deadline for preliminary bids for the company looms.

In currencies, the dollar was down 0.27% against the pound, 0.32% weaker versus the euro and 0.8% higher against the yen.

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