NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks were narrowly mixed on Monday, boosted by a dollar in decline and higher oil prices. Comments from the Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer kept investor focus on the likelihood of a rate hike this year. 

The S&P 500I:GSPC added 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial AverageI:DJI was up 0.26%, while the NasdaqI:IXIC was down 0.08% on weakness in the pharmaceutical sector. 

Addressing the Economic Club of New York on Monday, Fischer said the Fed's first rate hike in 9 years would likely happen this year once the central banks sees "further improvement in the labor market and we are reasonably confident that inflation will move to our 2% objective." The comments echoed the Fed's vow of data-dependence last week. 

The U.S. dollar continued to fall, adding to its worst drop in more than three years last week. The greenback fell from 12-year highs last week after the Fed suggested a slower-than-expected rate hike timeline. The U.S. dollar fell 1.1% against the euro, 1.4% against the Aussie dollar, and 0.86% against the Swiss franc.

The price for West Texas Intermediate crude, which is denominated in U.S. dollars, was pushed higher as demand for domestic oil was seen to increase as it became relatively cheaper. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.8% to $47.41 a barrel.

The energy sector moved higher on recovering oil prices. Major oil companies Exxon Mobil (XOM) - Get Report, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) , Total (TOT) - Get Report and BP (BP) - Get Report were all higher.

Existing home sales climbed 1.2% to 4.88 million in February. The reading fell slightly short of economists' estimates of an increase to 4.94 million from 4.82 million in January. The median sales price climbed to $202,600, up 7.5% from a year-earlier, and its biggest gain in a year.

"Investors are taking solace in the fact that low inflation and the moderating economic growth may lead the Fed to increase interest rates at a slower, gentler pace," said Russ Koesterich, global chief investment strategist at BlackRock, of recent poor data. "With the notable exception of the labor market, U.S. economic data are generally running below expectations... However, rather than sell stocks, investors are once again treating bad news as good."

Gilead Sciences (GILD) - Get Report dragged on the Nasdaq on reports the company had sent out warnings for hepatitis C drug Sovaldi to health providers, advising against using in conjunction with certain heart treatments. Nasdaq components Celgene (CELG) - Get Report, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) - Get Report and RegeneronPharmaceuticals (REGN) - Get Report were also lower.

Monsanto (MON) , producer of agricultural products, pulled lower on Monday after the World Health Organization warned that its weed killer was carcinogenic, though the company rebutted the claims. Shares were down 1.9%.

Facebook (FB) - Get Report jumped more than 1% after having its price target increased to $97 from $94 at JMP Securities. Analysts said the boost was based on the social network's improving market share. 

Lumber Liquidators (LL) - Get Report slid 1.7% after Senator Chuck Schumer called for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to launch a federal investigation into product safety. The company's flooring products have been brought under scrutiny after a 60 Minutes report alleged an unsafe level of formaldehyde. 

Tenet Healthcare (THC) - Get Report spiked 5% after forming a joint venture with United Surgical Partners with the option of buying the company in 2020. Tenet will pay $425 million for a majority stake in the venture.