Stock investors kicked off the month with a bang Monday, pouring into riskier assets as hopes grew for a robust global economic rebound.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 208.44 points, or 1.99 percent, with all of its components in the black.
The strong start to August added to a July that saw the Dow climb 7.1 percent, its biggest monthly gain since July 2009.
The market burst out the gate with triple-digit gains following stronger-than-expected quarterly reports from European banks, and hung onto its gains after a better-than-expected July reading of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index and an unexpected climb in June construction spending.
“Clearly the positive momentum from July is carrying over into August,” said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist with RidgeWorth Investments.
He cautioned, however, that “it’s still too early to declare all clear” on the economic front, with manufacturing data still relatively weak despite beating expectations.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.80 percent to 2295.36, and the Standard & Poor’s 500-share index jumped 2.20 percent to 1125.86.
Those gains helped the two indexes climb back into the black for the year so far.
The dollar weakened against the euro, which approached the $1.32 level, and gained slightly on the yen. The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against a basket of six others, fell 0.8 percent.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday that while the U.S. economy continues to grow at a moderate pace, significant restraints remain on the recovery.
Speaking at the 64th annual meeting of the Southern Legislative Conference, Bernanke said the U.S. had a “considerable way to go to achieve a full recovery in our economy, and many Americans are still grappling with unemployment, foreclosure and lost savings.”