By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Monday in a relief rally after indications that British voters later this week will choose to remain in the European Union.
The day's gains erased most of last week's decline, which came partly on worries of what a British exit from the EU would mean for the global economy and trade. The vote on whether to stay is scheduled for Thursday.
The most recent polls showed a change in momentum favouring the 'remain' camp just days away from the vote.
"The market is positioning for a 'remain' vote, so you see the fear and uncertainty trade unwinding right now," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey.
She said, however, that the reverse trade could be triggered by any sign the Brexit - or British exit from the EU - camp is gaining momentum.
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"It is a long time between now and Thursday."
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 179.87 points, or 1.02 percent, to 17,855.03, the S&P 500 had gained 18.05 points, or 0.87 percent, to 2,089.27 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 52.46 points, or 1.09 percent, to 4,852.80.
The S&P 500 once more hit technical resistance at 2,100, a level that has seen clusters of sellers in the recent past.
The British pound gained 2.3 percent versus the U.S. dollar on its strongest day in 7-1/2 years.
U.S.-traded shares of JD.com rallied 5.5 percent to $21.24 after Walmart said it would sell its Chinese e-commerce business to JD.com and create a strategic alliance. Walmart shares gained 0.3 percent to $71.17.
Lending Club Corp gained 3.6 percent to $5.05 after Chinese billionaire Chen Tianqiao raised his stake in the online lending platform, following the recent ouster of founder and Chief Executive Renaud Laplanche.
The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 63 new highs and 32 new lows.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Nick Zieminski)