US stocks rose, led by oil companies, after a government report showed orders to petroleum refiners climbed by the most in two years.

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., the largest U.S. energy producers, gained after the Commerce Department said a 16 percent jump in demand at refiners helped boost factory orders by three times the forecast rate. Monsanto Co., the largest seed maker, led commodity companies to the biggest gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index after profit topped analysts’ estimates.

The S&P 500 added 4.97, or 0.3 percent, to 1,452.13 as of 11:13 a.m. in New York, following its worst decline in two weeks yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 52.76, or 0.4 percent, to 13,096.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.24, or 0.1 percent, to 2,610.87. [MORE]