NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks started the fourth quarter on a strong note on Monday, with the S&P 500, the Dow and the Russell 2000 all hitting record high closes as data pointed to underlying strength in the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 154.02 points, or 0.69 percent, to 22,559.11, the S&P 500 gained 9.84 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,529.2 and the Nasdaq Composite added 20.76 points, or 0.32 percent, to 6,516.72.
(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by James Dalgleish)