Stocks rose sharply on Monday as Wall Street built on strong gains from the previous session amid hope for a new deal on U.S. fiscal stimulus and several corporate deals being struck.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average screamed higher 410.1 points, or 1.5%, to close Monday at 27,584.06.
The S&P 500 spiked 53.14 points, or 1.6%, to 3,351.60.
The NASDAQ leaped 203.96 points, or 1.9%, to 11,117.53.
Shares of major tech names rose broadly. Facebook advanced 0.8%, and Amazon climbed 2.6%. Apple was up 2.4%. Alphabet advanced 1.4% and Microsoft traded higher by 0.8%.
Bank stocks also contributed to Monday's gains. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all popped more than 2%.
Sentiment on Wall Street got a boost after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday a last-minute coronavirus aid deal remains on the table as House Democrats try to forge ahead on a smaller aid package costing about $2.4 trillion.
The chamber could vote on the bill as soon as next week. Still, that price tag is well above what Republican leadership has indicated it will support for a new package.
Investors also cheered a slew of corporate dealmaking activity. Devon Energy and WPX Energy announced they will mover forward with a merger of equals, sending Devon stocks up 11.1% and WPX ahead 16.4%. Meanwhile, Caesars Entertainment revealed a cash offer to buy London-based William Hill for 2.9 billion pounds.
Still, major averages are on track to post steep losses for September, a historically weak month for stocks. The Dow dropped off 2%, and the S&P 500 has fallen nearly 4.4%, while the NASDAQ has declined 6.1%. The declines followed a massive comeback from the coronavirus selloff that saw the S&P 500 climb more than 50% from its March bottom.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury were static, maintaining yields at Friday's 0.66%.
Oil prices recaptured 34 cents to $40.59 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $20.70 to $1,887 U.S. an ounce.