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S&P 500 ends just shy of new record

William Cummings
USA TODAY
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Stocks rose for a second straight day Monday as corporate earnings continue to come in better-than-expected.

The major indexes ended off their earlier highs as the S&P 500 came in about three below its record finish.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.3% to 2114.48, just below its April 24 record closing high of 2117.69.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished 0.3% higher and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 0.2%, staying above the 5000 mark.

STOCKS:Live markets blog

An improved manufacturing outlook helped boost investor sentiment as factory orders for March rose for the first time in eight months. The Commerce Department said orders rose 2.1%.

In corporate news:

■ Shares of McDonald's (MCD) fell 1.7% after the fast food giant unveiled its turnaround plans. CEO Steve Easterbrook said the company plans to accelerate its refranchising and realign its markets in a bid to revive the struggling fortunes of the world's largest fast-food chain.

■ Cisco (CSCO) rose 0.2% after the tech company appointed Chuck Robbins as its new CEO, replacing John Chambers.

■ Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH), a technology consulting business, was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 after it reported earnings that beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts and raised its earnings and sales outlook for the year. Shares surged 6.1%.

Asian markets gained on expectations that China will implement measures to counteract its economy's slowing growth.

"China's authorities are becoming more concerned about the economic downturn," said UBS economist Tao Wang in a report. "In the next couple of months, we expect the government to speed up infrastructure investment with enhanced support from policy banks and cut the benchmark interest rate."

The Shanghai composite rose 0.9% to 4,480.46 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was dipped 0.03% to 28,123.82. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.1% to 19,531.63.

European benchmarks were higher, with Britain's FTSE 100 up 0.4%, Germany's DAX gaining 1.4% and France's CAC-40 up 0.7%.

Stocks rebounded Friday as Wall Street kicked off May with a strong rally and the Dow recouping most of the previous day's losses. The major indexes did, however, post losses for the week.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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