At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index advanced 373.98 points or 1.13% to 33,527 and the S&P 500 added 58.04 points or 1.44% to 4,078. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed up 225.49 points or to 1.67% 13,706.
With the U.S. stock market closed Friday, it was the market's first reaction to the latest jobs report, which showed that U.S. hiring jumped in March. Employers added a seasonally adjusted 916,000 jobs last month. Investors were further encouraged by a report Monday showing that the services sector recorded record growth in March as orders, hiring and prices surged.
Technology and communications stocks accounted for a big slice of the gains Monday. Apple rose 2.4%, Microsoft gained 2.8% and Facebook climbed 3.4%. Tesla s surged 4.4% after announcing a report that vehicle deliveries doubled during the first quarter.
Shares of energy companies fell as crude oil prices fell. Occidental Petroleum dropped 7.6% and Marathon Oil slid 5.1%.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Report from the Labor Department showed employment in the U.S. spiked by much more than expected in the month of March. The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment surged up by 916,000 jobs in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 468,000 jobs in February. The stronger than expected job growth resulted in a continued decrease by the unemployment rate, which fell to 6.0 percent in March from 6.2 percent in February.
Separately, a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing its reading on activity in the service sector soared to an all-time high in March. The ISM said its Services PMI surged up to 63.7 in March from 55.3 in February, with a reading above 50 indicating growth.
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