Financial Stocks Lead Markets Higher

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks rose broadly in early trading Monday as investors tried to look beyond the uncertain timing of a possible interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve. All 10 industry groups in the Standard and Poor's 500 index gained. Homebuilder Lennar jumped on a solid earnings report. Financialstocks climbed the most.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 133 points, or 0.8 percent, to 16,519 as of 10:25 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 15 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,973 and the Nasdaq composite gained 42 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,868.

FINANCIAL BOUNCEBACK: Stocks of major banks are rising after sharp falls on Friday. Those declines were caused by fears that the Fed's decision to keep interest rates at historic lows would make it difficult for banks to charge their customers more to borrowers. Citigroup rose 36 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $50.65.

CASHING IN THE CHIPS: Atmel, a California-based semiconductor company, surged after the company accepted an offer worth about $4.6 billion in cash and stock from Britain's Dialog Semiconductor. Atmel provide electronics products used in the industrial, automotive, consumer, communications, and computing markets. Its stock jumped $1.03, or 14 percent, to $8.31.

BUILDING BOOM: Homebuilder Lennar's gained after its fiscal third-quarter results beat analysts' estimates. The company delivered more homes and saw a rise in new orders thanks to an improving housing market. The company stock gained $1.04, or 2 percent, to $52.78.

EUROPE'S DAY: Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.1 percent while the CAC-40 in France climbed 0.7 percent. Germany's DAX fell 0.1 percent.

FED IN REAR: The recovery in stocks in Europe and the U.S. comes after the Federal Reserve decided last week to keep its benchmark interest rate on hold, raising concerns about the outlook for global growth. That prompted the biggest drop in two weeks for U.S. stocks.

ANALYST TAKE: "It was a gloomy end to last week, but some hints of positivity are seen this morning as investors try to put the Fed's statement behind them," said Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG.

ASIA'S DAY: Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 fell 2 percent and Seoul's Kospi lost 1.6 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.7 percent. The Shanghai Composite gained 1.9 percent. Tokyo was closed for a three-day holiday.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.09 to $46.14 per barrel in on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 84 cents to $48.31 in London.

CURRENCIES: The euro was down 0.7 percent at $1.1227 while the dollar rose 0.4 percent to 120.40 yen.

BONDS: Bond price fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.18 percent from 2.13 percent on Friday.

(AG)