Stocks opened higher Monday, building on a record finish for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite after major benchmarks last week saw their strongest weekly gains since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.76% was up 141.51 points, or 0.5%, at 31,289.75, moving back above its Jan. 20 record close of 31,188.38.
The S&P 500 SPX, +0.74% rose 17.10 points, or 0.4%, to 3,903.93, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.95% added 65.15 points, or 0.5%, to trade at 13,921.45. Analysts said a slowing pace of COVID-19 cases, continued vaccine rollouts and progress toward another large round of coronavirus aid spending continued to boost appetite for stocks and other assets.