Stocks and crude oil are rallying (AAPL, USO, WTI, OIL, VDE, SPX, SPY, DJI, IXIC, BNO)

Stocks and crude oil rallied in early trading on Monday.

Near 11:52 a.m. ET, the Dow was up 151 points (0.86%), the S&P 500 was up 18 points (0.89%), and the Nasdaq was up 54 points (1.16%). Stocks closed at their lowest level in a month on Friday. 

Apple shares gained the most on the Dow, by 3% after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that it owned a $1 billion stake in the company as at the end of the first quarter. 

West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York and Brent crude — the international benchmark — both gained more than 3%. 

The two headlines you need to know are: Nigerian production has fallen to the lowest level in decades after several militant attacks on infrastructure. And, Goldman Sachs analysts say the oil market has turned from a dire overflow to a deficit much sooner than they had thought. 

Brent crude climbed above $49 per barrel, while WTI rose to as high as $47.85, the highest level since October. Investing.comIn economic data, the Empire State Manufacturing index plunged to -9.02 for May from a 15-month high of 9.56, as business conditions unexpectedly got worse. 

And, the National Association of Homebuilders' housing market index held at 58 for a fourth straight month. 

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