US stocks build on Friday's strong up-move

Major US equity indices built on Friday's strong gains and kicked off a new week on a positive note. 

Early gains were supported by a rally in energy stocks, which benefitted from the ongoing upsurge in oil prices. In fact, WTI crude oil prices pushed above the $70.00/barrel mark, the highest level since 2014, boosted by Venezuela's deepening economic crisis and investors keep a close eye on comments linked to the Iran nuclear deal.

Today's up-move followed Friday's strong gains led by a rally in shares of Apple, which got a boost on reports that Berkshire Hathaway bought 75 million shares in the first quarter and overshadowed mixed US monthly jobs report. 

A follow-through buying on Monday, coupled with news of Starbucks's partnership with Nestle, remained supportive of the positive sentiment during the early hour of trade on Monday.

However, uncertainty over the US-China trade tensions, especially after the US delegate failed to garner any deal out of the recent round of negotiations with China, might continue to weigh on investors' sentiment and keep a lid on any strong up-move.

At the time of writing this report, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped over 200-points to 24,470 and the S&P 500 Index added around 17-points to 2,680. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 60-points and was now seen building on its momentum back above the 7,200 mark.