The Federal Reserve reported early Monday that the increase in factory production in February was the biggest in six months. That reassured investors that a slowdown in January related to severe winter weather may have been temporary.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 175 points, or 1.1 percent, to 16,240 in the first few minutes of trading Monday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 17 points, or 1 percent, to 1,858. The Nasdaq composite index rose 45 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4,290.
Sears Holdings rose 2 percent after the company said it would spin off its Land's End business.
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