Late Surge Pushes Stocks to New Heights

Updated from 4:05 p.m. EST

Stocks soared Monday as a late surge pushed the major indices to their highest closing levels in 2 1/2 years, following another round of strong earnings releases.

The Dow rose 134.22 points, or 1.3%, to 10,702.51, its highest close since June 2001; the S&P 500 added 13.82 points, or 1.2%, to 1155.37, its biggest gain in two months and a new 22-month high; and the Nasdaq climbed 29.96 points, or 1.4%, to 2153.83, passing its recent 30-month high.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 1.45 billion shares, while 1.94 billion shares changed hands on the Nasdaq. Advancers beat decliners by about 5 to 4 on the NYSE, and by about 2 to 1 on the Nasdaq. ...