Oil prices rally; S&P 500 up for a fifth session

By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped on Monday as optimism rose that major producers might reach a price support deal, helping U.S. stocks to notch a fifth straight session of gains. Brent hit its highest level since December, climbing $2.12, or 5.5 percent, to settle at $40.84 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose $1.98, or 5.5 percent, to settle at $37.90. On Monday, the Ecuadorean government said Latin American oil producers agreed to meet on Friday in Quito to coordinate