Stocks jumped Monday, extending July's gains, as investors welcomed strong profits from European banks and positive U.S. economic reports. Monday's rally follows July's 7 percent gain, the biggest monthly improvement in a year, and was sparked by quarterly results from European banks HSBC and BNP Paribas. HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, said Monday its profit more than doubled in the first half of the year to $6.76 billion. French bank BNP Paribas said profit jumped 32 percent in the second quarter. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said financial markets have improved from the depths of the financial crisis, but he acknowledged that conditions have become "somewhat less supportive of economic growth in recent months." Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner promised to quickly draft implementation rules for a massive financial regulation overhaul recently passed by Congress. In U.S. economic news, manufacturing activity fell slightly in July but still showed growth in the sector. The result was better than expected. A second report showed construction spending unexpectedly rose 1 percent in June. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and rose versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for September delivery rose $2.51 to $81.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on renewed optimism about global economic growth. Gold rose $1.50 to $1,185.40 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 208.44, or 2 percent, to 10,674.38. All 30 components rose, with the biggest gains in the materials and technology sectors. ExxonMobil and Chevron surged as oil prices rose above $80. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 24.26, or 2.2 percent, to 1,125.86. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 40.66, or 1.8 percent, to 2,295.36.
