NEW YORK (REUTERS) - U.S. stocks broadly rose on Monday, led by Apple, as they rebounded off their worst-ever start to a year and with the corporate earnings season set to kick off.

All 10 major S&P sectors opened higher, before the energy and materials sectors reversed course, staying under pressure as oil prices fell for the sixth day in a row, hovering near 12-year lows.

Global stocks were mixed as jittery investors looked for stability after a bruising start to the year due to declining oil prices and mounting worries about a China-led slowdown in global economic growth.

The S&P 500 slid 6 per cent and the Nasdaq dropped 7.3 per cent last week. Not even a surge in U.S. nonfarm payrolls in December stemmed the bleeding. "A relief rally would be expected at some point during the recent precipitous fall," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

Bakhos, however, warned of escalating concerns over the issues such as China and falling oil prices that have plagued the market all of last year.

At 9:37 a.m. ET (10.37 pm Singapore time), the Dow Jones industrial average was up 72.08 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 16,418.53.

The S&P 500 was up 8.66 points, or 0.45 per cent, at 1,930.69 and the Nasdaq Composite index was up 22.95 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 4,666.58.

The consumer staples sector's 0.72 per cent rise led the gainers. The health sector, off 0.56 per cent, recorded the smallest drop among the three decliners.

The other two decliners, energy and materials companies, are expected to be main cause behind U.S. corporate earnings moving into a recession - two quarters of falling profits - in the fourth quarter.