Major Averages Close Near Their Highs Of The Session

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved sharply higher over the course of the trading day on Monday, largely offsetting the weakness that was seen last week. The gains on the day lifted the major averages well off the monthly lows set last Wednesday.

Biotechnology stocks saw substantial strength on the day, resulting in 2.4 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index. With the gain, the index reached a new record closing high.

United Therapeutics (UTHR) and Amgen (AMGN) turned in two of the biotech sector's best performances, surging up by 8.1 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.

Significant strength was also visible among trucking stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent gain posted by the Dow Jones Trucking Index. The gain lifted the index to its best closing level in well over two months.

Health care stocks also turned in a strong performance on the day, driving the Dow Jones Health Care Index up by 2.2 percent. The index also ended the session at a new record closing high.

Railroad, utilities, telecom and semiconductor stocks also saw notable strength, moving higher along with most of the other major sectors.

The major averages ended the day firmly in positive territory, near their highs for the session. The Dow jumped 228.11 points or 1.3 percent to 17,977.42, the Nasdaq surged up 57.75 points or 1.2 percent to 4,929.51 and the S&P 500 soared 27.79 points or 1.4 percent to 2,081.19.