Joe McDonald

The Associated Press

U.S. stocks rose Monday as investors sent the Dow Jones industrial average to another record high. Banks put up some of the biggest gains, as did technology companies, which have been mostly left out of a post-election rally. Energy companies were higher as the price of oil reached its highest level since July 2015. Small-company stocks continued to outpace the rest of the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.82, or 0.2%, to close at a record 19,216.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.6% to 2204.71 and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1% to 5308.89.

Small-company stocks again outpaced the rest of the market as the Russell 2000 jumped 1.8%. Thanks to a big rally in November, the Russell is up 17% this year, or more than twice as much as the S&P 500. Smaller companies, which are more domestically focused than large multinationals, could stand to benefit more than larger companies from a pickup in U.S. growth.

Oil prices rose for the fourth day in a row. The gains Monday were modest, but oil prices haven’t been this high since July 2015. Benchmark U.S. oil rose 11 cents to $51.79 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 48 cents to $54.94 a barrel in London. The price of oil has surged since OPEC countries finalized a deal that will trim oil production starting in January.

The rising price of oil sent energy companies higher. ConocoPhillips picked up 1.6% and Hess rose 1.9%.

Banks resumed their post-election rally and are trading at their highest levels since early 2008. Goldman Sachs gained 2.3% and rose to a nine-year high. Banks are on a four-week winning streak since the election and are benefiting from rising long-term interest rates in the bond market, which will make it more profitable for banks to lend money.

Italian vote, Renzi resignation confuses global markets

Overseas,European stocks were mostly higher, but Italy’s market fell after Italian voters rejected proposed constitutional changes to the national constitution on Sunday, causing political and economic uncertainty for Europe’s fourth-largest economy. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would resign. Italy’s FTSE MIB index fell 0.2%.

“Risk sentiment has taken a hit from rejection of the Italian referendum,” Citigroup analysts said in a report. The outcome was in line with polls but the heavy margin of rejection is surprising,” they said. “This raises the political risks in Italy and may weigh on its troubled banking sector. This also casts significant doubts over Italy’s membership of the European Union and the future of Eurozone.”

But other European markets were higher as Germany’s DAX added 1.6% and France’s CAC-40 gained 1%. London’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.2%.

Asian markets fell as Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.8%, Seoul’s Kospi gave up 0.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.3%.

China's Shanghai Composite Index sank 1.2%. Donald Trump rattled Beijing by taking a phone call from Taiwan’s president in a break with U.S. diplomatic protocol. China issued an unusually low-key complaint, saying it was a “small trick” by Taiwan, which the communist mainland claims as part of its territory. Washington has close ties with Taiwan but switched formal diplomatic relations to Beijing four decades ago. The call was the starkest example yet of how Trump has flouted diplomatic conventions since he won the Nov. 8 election. He apparently has been speaking with foreign leaders without guidance from the State Department, which oversees U.S. diplomacy.