US benchmark equity indexes ended higher on Monday after the European Union said it will postpone planned tariffs on US goods for six months while working toward a joint trade agreement, as some major companies reported some positive pre-bell earnings results.

* The European Union said Monday it will postpone for six months the retaliatory tariffs on US goods that were scheduled to begin this week, adding that it is working with Washington to finalize a joint statement under the agreement reached on July 27.

* US factory new orders dropped 4.8% in June, matching expectations from a Bloomberg survey, after a revised 8.3% rise in May. Excluding transportation, which fell 22.4%, orders rose 0.4% following a 0.3% increase in May, slightly above the expected 0.2% gain.

* September West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $1.19 to settle at $66.14 per barrel, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $1.03 to $68.64.

* IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) shares were up nearly 28% after the company reported Q2 results that beat market expectations, and it raised its full-year outlook.

* ON Semiconductor (ON) shares fell after the company reported lower Q2 non-GAAP earnings and revenue.