U.S. stocks climbed Monday as merger activity and stock-ratings upgrades helped fuel a rally across all sectors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 110 points, or 1.2%, to 10448 as all 30 of its components climbed. Alcoa surged 8.7% after Morgan Stanley raised its investment rating on the stock. Intel gained 3.1% after an upgrade from analysts at Barclays.
The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.2%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.3%.
The market's broad gains were led by the materials and health-care sectors. The gains in the materials sector came despite a decline in gold futures, as Morgan Stanley noted positive signs for aluminum pricing in its upgrade of Alcoa's shares. Also lifting the sector, copper futures were higher.
The health-care sector's gains came after the Senate voted Monday to advance health-care legislation in an initial procedural vote, beginning a process that puts the bill on track for passage later this week.
A wide range of health-care stocks rose, including health insurer Aetna, which was up 4.6%. Pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer rose 2.6% and Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager, climbed 3.8%.
Also lifting the health-care sector, Sanofi-Aventis agreed to buy consumer drug maker Chattem for $1.9 billion, a 34% premium to the Tennessee company's price on Friday. American depositary shares of Sanofi-Aventis edged up 0.6%, while Chattem jumped 33%.
Meanwhile, crude oil futures rose. The dollar strengthened against both the euro and the yen and Treasury prices sank.
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