By Anora Mahmudova and Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

New York region manufacturing weakens in August

U.S. stocks advanced steadily on Monday, with the main indexes setting another round of all-time highs, in part thanks to higher oil prices, which boosted energy and materials shares.

The S&P 500 was up 9 points, or 0.4%, to 2,193, with seven of the 10 main sectors trading higher. Energy and materials sectors led the gains, up 0.8% and 1% respectively. So-called defensive sectors, such as utilities, consumer staples and telecom were in negative territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 90 points, or 0.5%, to 18,666, with Boeing Company(BA) and Home Depot, Inc. (HD) leading gains.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 32 points, or 0.6%, to 5,265.

"The market is grinding higher thanks to better-than-expected earnings results during this season as well as due to lack of alternatives, since bond yields are so low," said Karyn Cavanaugh, senior market strategist at Voya Financial.

Cavanaugh said that in the absence of euphoria among investors, the market is likely to continue a slow march higher.

Market were also supported by upbeat report from the housing market. Home builder confidence (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-builder-sentiment-edges-up-2-points-in-august-2016-08-15) in the market for new single-family homes rose more than expected in August, a hopeful sign for increased construction.

The reported boosted shares of home-building companies such as D.R. Horton Inc (DHI) and Lennar Corp(LEN) both up more than 1.6%.

Earlier, investors appeared to shrug off a weaker-than-expected reading on manufacturing conditions in the New York region. The Empire State manufacturing index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/empire-state-index-swings-back-to-negative-ground-2016-08-15)for August fell to negative 4.2 from 0.6 in July, the fourth time this year the reading has been in negative territory.

"The internals [of the New York manufacturing report] were weak but not as much as the headline figure, which is not a sum of its parts, said Peter Boockvar, chief market analyst at The Lindsey Group.

At least, according to the Empire data, the first regional survey for August, "U.S. manufacturing continues to muddle along, into and out of expansion and contraction," Boockvar said.

Other markets:Oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-futures-rally-on-fresh-hopes-for-a-production-freeze-2016-08-15) traded sharply higher amid hopes for a production freeze, helping sentiment. European stocks inched up, while Asian markets closed mostly higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-stocks-come-out-strong-despite-lackluster-economic-news-2016-08-14), with Chinese stocks helped by renewed hopes for the launch of a Shenzhen-Hong Kong trading link. Gold futures and a key dollar index were little changed.

Economic news: Apart from the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, investors are expected to get an August figure for a housing market index from the National Association of Home Builders. Economists see a reading of 59 at 10 a.m.

Individual movers: Shares of energy companies such as Chesapeake Energy Corp.(CHK) and Transocean Ltd.(RIG) rose 4% and 5.1% respectively, leading the S&P 500 gainers.

Shares in Apple Inc.(AAPL) were up 1% after a Washington Post report over the weekend indicated the iPhone maker isn't likely to repatriate overseas assets. In the lengthy story (http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/business/wp/2016/08/13/2016/08/13/tim-cook-the-interview-running-apple-is-sort-of-a-lonely-job/), CEO Tim Cook was also quoted hinting at augmented-reality efforts and staying tight-lipped about a car project.

On the deals front, real-estate investment trust Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc.(MAA) confirmed that it plans (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mid-america-apartment-confirms-deal-to-buy-post-properties-for-nearly-4-billion-2016-08-15) to buy Post Properties Inc.(PPS) in a deal valued at $4 billion. Shares in MAA fell 5.7%.

Shares of Salesforce.com Inc.(CRM) were down 3.4% after the company announced that its quarterly results will be released on Aug 31, 2016 after the close of market, instead of Aug 29, 2016, "to accommodate a scheduling conflict."

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 15, 2016 11:25 ET (15:25 GMT)