Stocks rose sharply Monday, following reports of strong U.S. post-holiday sales and amid optimism that European leaders may be working toward a solution to the continent's debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 291.23, or 2.6 percent, to 11,523.01, ending four consecutive losing sessions. All 30 Dow components rose, led by aluminum maker Alcoa, whose shares rose 5.7 percent, and heavy-machinery builder Caterpillar, whose shares gained 5.5 percent. Hewlett-Packard stock gained 4.5 percent, and financial stocks rose between 1.6 and 2.4 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 33.88, or 2.9 percent, to 1,192.55, ending a streak of seven consecutive losing sessions. Shares of big retailers rose between 3 and 6 percent, and shares of big banks rose between 2 and 6 percent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 85.83, or 3.5 percent, to 2,527.34. Shares of Amazon.com jumped 6.4 percent after the online retailer said it sold four times more Kindle electronic-reading devices during this post-holiday weekend than the same period last year. Apple shares also rose after the technology giant saw strong weekend sales of its iPad tablet and Mac computers.
