U.S. stocks closed higher Monday, with the S&P 500 crossing 2,000 for the first time, lifted by a round of corporate deals and optimism that the European Central Bank (ECB) would embark on further moves to stimulate the European economy. In U.S. economic news, data from the Commerce Department showed that sales of new single-family homes fell for a second consecutive month in July. A survey from financial-data firm Markit had the pace of growth in the nation's services sector declining for a second month in August, while a gauge of U.S. economic activity from the Chicago Federal Reserve illustrated expansion above historical trends. The dollar gained against other global currencies. Light sweet crude oil for October delivery lost 30 cents to $93.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell $1.30 to $1,278.90 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 75.65, or 0.4 percent, to 17,076.87. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 9.53, or 0.5 percent, to 1,997.93. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 18.80, or 0.4 percent, to 4,557.35.