NEW YORK — The Dow Jones industrial average closed within 20 points of 12,000 Monday, its highest point since June 2008.
Technology stocks rose after Intel increased its dividend and said it would buy back more of its stock. The company gained 2 percent.
Materials companies rose after a report from the National Association for Business Economics showed that economists are more positive about economic growth and the job market than at any time since the start of the Great Recession in December 2007.
“Corporate actions, such as buybacks, dividends and M&A, make valuations attractive,” said Peter Jankovskis, who helps manage more than $2.6 billion at Oakbrook Investments in Lisle, Ill. “That’s an indication of management’s confidence in the future. Earnings at U.S. companies have been strong. That’s positive for the equity market.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 rebounded following its first weekly drop since November, rising 7.49 to 1,290.84. The benchmark gauge for equities rose as much as 91 percent from a 12-year low in March 2009 amid government-stimulus measures and higher-than-estimated corporate profits. The benchmark gauge for U.S. equities is trading for 15.7 times its companies’ reported earnings, compared with a 10-year average of 18.23.
The Dow gained 108.68 points, or 0.9 percent, to 11,980.52. The last time the average closed above 12,000 was June 19, 2008. The Nasdaq composite gained 28.01, or 1 percent, to 2,717.55.
Gains were spread across the market. Financial and health care companies were the only two of the 10 company groups that make up the S&P index to fall.
McDonald’s gained 0.5 percent to $75.38 after it said it met analysts’ expectations and warned that rising food costs could affect its margins this year.
