Stocks rise on Wall Street as rally stretches to a fourth day

Stocks closed broadly higher on Wall Street Monday, extending the market’s gains from last week and sending the major indexes to record highs.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched all-time highs for the third straight trading day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bested its last record high set in late November.

Surprisingly strong economic reports out of China helped drive the rally. Growth in factory activity and retail sales in the world’s second-largest economy both beat analysts’ expectations for last month.

The economic reports gave investors more reason for encouragement. The market got a big confidence boost late last week after the United States and China reached a long-awaited “Phase 1” trade deal. The trade pact removed some of the uncertainty that’s hung over businesses and investors.

“What’s important about it is that we’re not witnessing an acceleration in the trade war,” said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial. “Right now, what the market is looking at is the possibility that we go into 2020 and we actually see global growth beginning to emerge, even if it’s not immediate.”

The S&P 500 rose 22.65 points, or 0.7%, to 3,191.45. The benchmark index is on a four-day winning streak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 100.51 points, or 0.4%, to 28,235.89. The Nasdaq composite climbed 79.35 points, or 0.9%, to 8,814.23.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks picked up 11.96 points, or 0.7%, to 1,649.94.

European markets closed broadly higher. Asian markets were mixed.

Monday’s wave of buying was broad, with roughly 85% of the stocks in the S&P 500 rising. The benchmark index capped last week with its third straight weekly gain as optimism over the U.S.-China trade deal put investors in a buying mood.

With less than three weeks left in 2019, the benchmark index is up 27.3% for the year.

Wall Street’s latest gains followed a rally in global stocks as traders welcomed news that China’s industrial production rose 6.2% in November from a year earlier. Meanwhile, retail sales growth rose to a five-month high of 8% from October’s 7.2%.