Techs fuel market momentum

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks rallied Monday morning, led by technology, as investors restarted last week's advance and geared up for some market-moving earnings and economic news due later this week.

The tech-fueled Nasdaq composite (up 12.22 to 2,401.94, Charts) added 0.7 percent around 80 minutes into the session. The Dow Jones industrial average (up 39.94 to 12,148.37, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (up 4.75 to 1,385.65, Charts) index both added around 0.4 percent.

Stocks were mixed Friday at the end of an otherwise upbeat week on Wall Street, as investors eyed bullish earnings, lower oil prices and news that the Democratic Party would now control Congress.

Although Monday was quiet on the news front, the week is set to be an active one.

Home Depot (down $0.18 to $36.46, Charts), Wal-Mart Stores (up $0.02 to $46.49, Charts), Target (down $0.13 to $57.81, Charts) and a host of other retailers report quarterly earnings.

Tech leaders Dell (up $0.54 to $25.43, Charts) and Hewlett-Packard (up $0.14 to $40.13, Charts) are also due to report results later in the week.

In addition, economic readings are due on retail sales, producer and consumer prices, manufacturing, housing and business inventories.

Investors are looking for further signs that the economy, though slowing, is not headed for a so-called "hard landing."

In addition, investors continue to bet that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting rates some time in the first half of next year and will be looking for this week's reports to support such beliefs.

In particular, a jump in the week's two inflation reports - the producer and consumer price indexes - might raise worries that the Fed won't be able to cut rates as soon as had been hoped. Such concerns could spark a stock selloff, particularly with the major gauges having risen so much lately.

Last week, the Dow Jones industrial average hit a fresh record closing high, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 stand near 6-year highs.

Among stock movers, ISIS Pharmaceuticals (up $2.48 to $12.86, Charts) jumped 28 percent after two mid-stage trials showed its cholesterol-lowering drug worked well to cut LDL, or so-called "bad" cholesterol.

U.S. light crude oil for December delivery sank $1.04 to $58.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices fell, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.61 percent from 4.59 percent late Friday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

COMEX gold fell $5.90 to $624.20 an ounce.

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