A positive report on U.S. manufacturing overshadowed concerns about weaker global growth and lifted stocks to multi-year highs Monday. The gain added to the best first quarter for stocks in more than a decade.
The Institute for Supply Management said that its index of manufacturing activity rose strongly this month. A measure of manufacturing employment rose to a nine-month high.
Stocks in the U.S. and Europe had tilted negative but rose after the ISM report. The S&P 500 closed up 10.57 points, or 0.8 percent, at 1,419.04. That was its highest close since May 19, 2008.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 52.45 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 13,264.49. It hasn't closed that high since the last day of 2007. The Nasdaq composite average gained 28.13, or 0.9 percent, to 3,119.70.
From January through March, the Dow rose 8 percent and the S&P 12 percent, the best first quarter for those indexes since 1998. The Nasdaq rose 19 percent, its best first quarter since 1991.
Groupon plunged 17 percent on the first trading day after the company said its internal controls are weak and its fourth-quarter loss was bigger than initially reported.
Still, the rally was broad, lifting all 10 of the S&P 500's industry groups. Rising commodity prices gave materials and energy companies some of the strongest gains.