U.S. stocks rebounded on Monday after a global equity sell-off last week, as optimism about earnings resurfaced and concern about credit conditions eased. Financial shares, which have borne the brunt of fallout from tightening credit markets, bounced back in part after ratings agency Standard & Poor's upgraded Morgan Stanley's debt.
Sentiment about the sector also improved after the bailout of a hedge fund steeped in subprime mortgage market losses and a home lending unit of GMAC reported narrowing losses. General Motors Corp. shares rose 4.9 percent, boosting the Dow.
Overall, analysts now expect a stronger second quarter than just a week ago. Expectations for quarterly earnings growth by Standard & Poor's 500 companies were raised to 6.8 percent compared with the year-ago period from 6.0 percent, according to Reuters Estimates.
"Maybe people had some time to reflect over the weekend, took a deep breath and saw that second-quarter earnings have been good -- we're comfortably beating the modest expectations," said Doug Peta, market strategist at J&W Seligman in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 92.84 points, or 0.70 percent, to end at 13,358.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 14.96 points, or 1.03 percent, to 1,473.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 21.04 points, or 0.82 percent, to 2,583.28.
