U.S. stocks gained, rebounding from the first weekly drop in a month, as a retreat in oil prices boosted consumer shares, Bloomberg reported.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s biggest retailer, rallied the most in two weeks as a decline in crude prices leaves consumers with more money to spend. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. led energy shares lower, limiting the market’s advance.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 6.89 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,395.17 in early trading. The Dow Jones industrial average increased 74.5, or 0.6 percent, to 12,820.38. The Nasdaq composite index rose 20.19, or 0.8 percent, to 2,465.71. Two stocks climbed for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Nine of 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 advanced today, trimming its 2008 loss to 5.3 percent. The benchmark for U.S. equities has rebounded 9 percent from a 19-month low on March 10 as first-quarter earnings topped analysts’ estimates at 61 percent of companies that have reported results so far, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Crude oil for June delivery declined 0.5 percent to $125.30 a barrel in New York. Gasoline futures fell 0.6 percent.