U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Monday, as investors wait for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to provide more clarity about when it may start cutting back on its bond-buying program. In U.S. economic news, the New York Fed's survey of manufacturers came in stronger than expected. The general business conditions index climbed to 7.8 in June, up sharply from -1.4 the previous month. A reading above zero indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector. The National Association of Home Builders' index hit 52 in June, marking the first time the key measure of home builders' confidence has been above 50 in seven years. A reading above 50 indicates that more builders say sales conditions are good rather than poor. In corporate news, Boeing shares rose to a new 52-week high after the company announced at the Paris Air Show that the aircraft leasing arm of General Electric has committed to buy 10 of its new 787 Dreamliners. Chief executive James McNerney also told CNBC that he is "highly confident" that the battery problems with the 787 Dreamliner have been fixed. Netflix shares led the gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100, after the company announced a deal with DreamWorks Animation. Facebook shares were higher in anticipation of a media event on Thursday, though details are slim on what exactly the social media giant will announce. Shares of Kandi Technologies soared as the Chinese electric vehicle maker moved forward with building new charging stations - the first step toward launching 5,000 to 10,000 electric vehicles in the next year or so. The dollar lost ground against the euro, the pound, and the yen. Light sweet crude oil for July delivery dropped 8 cents to $97.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell $4.50 to $1,383.10 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 109.67, or 0.73 percent, to 15,179.85. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 12.31, or 0.76 percent, to 1,639.04. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index moved up 28.57, or 0.83 percent, to 3,452.13.
