Dow climbs as oil fears recede

US stocks extended their advance today on news of dropping oil prices and a bevy of corporate mergers.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 70.58, or 0.7%, to 10,519.72. The Dow rose 146.85, or 1.43%, on Friday.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The S&P 500 index rose 7.58, or 0.6%, to 1,219.44, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 22.55, or 1.1%, to close at 2,135.43.

Oil prices fell for the third day in a row, dropping more than $1 dollar a barrel after Hurricane Dennis missed key Gulf of Mexico refineries, avoiding a disruption in fuel supplies.

Light sweet crude for August delivery fell 83c to $58.80 dollars a barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange.

Meanwhile news of corporate deals in telecom, banking and pharmaceuticals boosted stocks, stoking investors’ hopes that second-quarter earnings might be stronger than expected.

Investors welcomed the deals as a sign that companies feel secure enough to spend some of the cash they accumulated during the earnings run-up of the past two years.

Standard & Poor’s 500 companies, for instance, have the largest cash reserve in the S&P’s history.