Dow And S&P 500 Set New Record Closing Highs

(RTTNews) - After turning in a mixed performance last week, stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Monday. With the gains on the day, the Dow and the S&P 500 both ended the session at new record closing highs.

While most of the major sectors moved to the upside on the day, internet stocks posted particularly strong gains. The Dow Jones Internet Composite Index surged up by 3.2 percent, climbing further off the seven-month closing low it set last Thursday.

Twitter (TWTR) turned in one of the internet sector's best performances, with the social media giant jumping by 5.9 percent after being upgraded to Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.

Airline stocks also moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day, driving the NYSE Arca Airline Index up by 3 percent. With the gain, the index ended the session at its best closing level in twelve years.

Considerable strength was also visible among steel stocks, which benefited from optimism regarding the news out of China. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca Steel Index advanced by 2.9 percent.

Networking, biotechnology, brokerage, and software stocks also saw significant strength on the day, while utilities stocks were among the few groups to buck the uptrend.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting a standout gain. While the Nasdaq surged up 71.99 points or 1.8 percent to 4,143.86, the Dow advanced 112.13 points or 0.7 percent to 16,695.47 and the S&P 500 jumped 18.17 points or 1 percent to 1,896.65.