U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Monday, as gains in the Financials, Basic Materials and Technology sectors led shares higher.

At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.19% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.08%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 1.13%.

The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP), which rose 3.08% or 2.00 points to trade at 66.85 at the close. Meanwhile, The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) added 2.34% or 2.80 points to end at 122.56 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was up 2.30% or 0.72 points to 32.21 in late trade.

The worst performers of the session were Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which fell 0.81% or 1.29 points to trade at 158.37 at the close. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) declined 0.42% or 0.10 points to end at 23.72 and Walt DisneyCompany (NYSE:DIS) was up 0.02% or 0.02 points to 97.09.

The top performers on the S&P 500 were American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) which rose 5.18% to 45.86, XL Group Ltd (NYSE:XL) which was up 5.02% to settle at 40.55 and Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) which gained 4.71% to close at 123.85.

The worst performers were Equifax Inc (NYSE:EFX) which was down 8.20% to 113.12 in late trade, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) which lost 5.59% to settle at 445.11 and Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC) which was down 3.72% to 117.00 at the close.

The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were FalconStor Software Inc (NASDAQ:FALC) which rose 77.27% to 0.780, MabVax Therapeutics Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:MBVX) which was up 37.50% to settle at 0.660 and Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MRNS) which gained 33.01% to close at 4.15.

The worst performers were ESSA Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:EPIX) which was down 36.61% to 0.310 in late trade, Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ACHN) which lost 22.10% to settle at 3.83 and Health Insurance Innovations Inc(NASDAQ:HIIQ) which was down 21.91% to 23.350 at the close.

Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2367 to 735 and 131 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1772 rose and 723 declined, while 152 ended unchanged.

Shares in Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) rose to all time highs; rising 4.71% or 5.57 to 123.85. Shares in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) fell to 52-week lows; down 0.42% or 0.10 to 23.72. Shares in Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MRNS) rose to 52-week highs; rising 33.01% or 1.03 to 4.15.

The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 10.89% to 10.80.

Gold Futures for December delivery was down 1.45% or 19.53 to $1331.67 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 1.16% or 0.55 to hit $48.03 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 0.02% or 0.01 to trade at $53.77 a barrel.

EUR/USD was down 0.71% to 1.1951, while USD/JPY rose 1.54% to 109.48.

The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.69% at 91.94.