NEW YORK — U.S. stocks stepped up modestly Monday but it was enough to send the Dow Jones Industrial average over 11,000 for the first time since Sept. 26, 2008.
The Dow gained 8.62 points to end at 11,005.97, with Alcoa rising 1.3 percent and Caterpillar Inc. up 2.2 percent.
“There is a huge stockpile of cash on the sidelines earning virtually nothing,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago. “Maybe this can help shake a few people into the market.”
The first of the Dow’s 30 components to report first-quarter results, Alcoa is expected to swing to a profit under the steam of higher aluminum prices and increased demand.
On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase &Co. is slated to release its results in what analysts said should provide a barometer of financial-sector fiscal conditions.
Other big names set to report results include blue chips Intel Corp., Bank of America Corp. and General Electric Co.
“By the end of the week, we should have a reasonable idea of whether investors’ high expectations for terrific earnings reflected in recent stock-price gains over the last eight weeks have been warranted,” said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at Davidson Co.
Activity on the corporate mergers and acquisition front bolstered sentiment, with Mirant Corp. agreeing to acquire rival power firm RRI Energy Inc. for $1.61 billion and military contractor DynCorp International getting taken out by private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.
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