NEW YORK — Stocks advanced in early trading Monday as investors showed their relief over falling oil prices and waited for the arrival of second-quarter corporate earnings this week.

There’s little economic news expected, so the drop in oil prices appears to be drawing some investors back into the stock market after weeks of losses. Oil at times fell more than $5 to under $141 a barrel as the dollar gained strength.

Investors have been worried that consumers faced with soaring energy prices will continue to trim spending in other areas. With consumer spending accounting for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity a sizable pullback could create sizable ripples.

Wall Street is particularly eager for insights into how corporations are faring with the rise in energy costs and strapped consumers. Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. is set to start earnings season when it reports results Tuesday.

Investors haven’t been optimistic lately about the prospects for an economic recovery. The Dow has fallen the last three weeks while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and the Nasdaq composite index have logged five straight weeks of declines.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 81.42, or 0.72 percent, to 11,369.96.

Broader stock indicators also rose. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 8.20, or 0.65 percent, to 1,271.10, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 27.23, or 1.21 percent, to 2,272.61.

Light, sweet crude fell $4.30 to $140.99 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.