NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Stock prices zoomed Monday as investors bet that the economy is sizzling and that oil prices aren't likely to pose the same threat Wall Street was worried about just a week ago.
The Nasdaq composite (up 42.00 to 2020.62, Charts) rose 2.1 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 (up 17.92 to 1140.42, Charts) rose 1.6 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average (up 148.26 to 10391.08, Charts) rose 1.45 percent.
Gains were broad-based, with 28 out of 30 Dow issues rising. In particular, sectors like technology and materials gained, with investors putting money into areas likely to benefit first from a fast-growing economy.
For the rest of the week, "I think the path of least resistance remains to the upside," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
"There's nothing much in the way of earnings or economic news this week," he added. "We get commentary from Greenspan Tuesday and Thursday, but I don't think he'll say much that will have a big impact one way or the other. The market's not afraid of the Fed anymore."
On Tuesday, Fed chairman Alan Greenspan speaks at the International Monetary Conference and Thursday at his Senate nomination hearing.
After the close of trade Monday, chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN: Research, Estimates) issued a mid-quarter update that was bullish -- but perhaps not as bullish as some analysts hoped -- and the stock declined after hours.
Monday's market
Light sweet crude oil for July delivery edged up 17 cents to close at $38.66 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. While prices turned around after falling earlier in the session, they remained well below $40 a barrel.
Forty-dollar oil had spooked stocks in recent weeks with investors worried that rising oil and gasoline prices would hurt consumer spending -- which fuels two-thirds of the economy -- derailing corporate profits and thus stock prices.
But since OPEC announced late last week that it would boost its output targets, and the U.S. announced that inventories weren't as low as some investors had feared, oil prices have fallen and stocks have recovered.
Also adding to Monday's good cheer was continued enthusiasm about Friday's strong May payrolls report, which confirmed that the labor market is recovering and moving forward.
"I think you're seeing a continuation of the euphoria we saw on Friday with the employment numbers, and the fact that oil prices are down again," said Tom Schrader, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Legg Mason.
The New York Stock Exchange began trading two minutes later than usual after a moment of silence honoring former President Ronald Reagan, who died Saturday. U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed Friday in observance of national day of mourning.
What moved?
The Nasdaq's 10 most heavily-weighted issues all gained, led by Cisco Systems (CSCO: up $1.11 to $23.89, Research, Estimates), which added close to 5 percent in very active Nasdaq trade.
Cisco said it had struck a deal to use Trend Micro (TMIC: up $1.95 to $38.99, Research, Estimates)'s technology that blocks worms and other viruses, in conjunction with its own software, to offer corporate networks new security options.
Among stock movers, shares of Dow component Boeing (BA: up $1.23 to $48.13, Research, Estimates) gained 2.6 percent after one of the company's executives said Sunday that orders for its first new plane in a decade, the 7E7, could reach 200 this year and 3,500 in overall total sales.
Shares of Mandalay Resort Group (MBG: up $9.96 to $70.23, Research, Estimates) rallied 16.5 percent in very active New York Stock Exchange trade after rival MGM Mirage (MGG: down $1.19 to $44.84, Research, Estimates) launched an unsolicited bid for the company for about $4.85 billion in cash.
A number of biotechs were active. Shares of ImClone (IMCL: up $8.89 to $81.38, Research, Estimates) rallied 12.3 percent after the company revealed positive trial data about its experimental Erbitux drug at a cancer treatment conference this weekend. Researchers said studies showed that Erbitux treated head and neck cancer better than radiation therapy and helped some patients live longer.
Market breadth was solidly positive, but trading volume was light. On the NYSE, where 1.2 billion shares traded, advancers outnumbered decliners by more than three to one. On the Nasdaq, gainers beat losers by eleven to five as 1.48 billion shares changed hands.
"It's a pretty good rally today but not tremendously strong," Schrader added. "The breadth is good, but I'd like to see the volume a bit stronger."
Treasury prices gained modestly, reversing early declines, with the 10-year note yield at 4.76 percent, down from 4.77 percent late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. The dollar fell versus the yen and euro.
Among other commodities, COMEX gold added $2.80 to settle at $394.50 an ounce.
Wall Street also got a psychological boost from its counterparts overseas. Asian markets rallied overnight, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 average scoring its biggest one-day percentage gain for the year. Stocks also rallied in Europe Monday.
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