Stocks neared a new record as investors renewed their bets that trade wars and other geopolitical worries wouldn't derail this bull market, which is set to become the longest rally ever this week.
Dealmaking activity and falling rates also helped lift market benchmarks on Monday. Netflix shares led the market's gains.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.2 percent to 2,857.05 and is now just under 0.6 percent from its record reached in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 89.37 points to close at 25,758.69 with Nike outperforming. Nike shares rose 3.1 percent after Piper Jaffray upgraded the athletic apparel maker to overweight from neutral and raised their price target to $93 a share from $72. The stock traded around $82 per share.
The Nasdaq Composite gained just under 0.1 percent to close at 7,821.01 as a 3.5 percent rise in Netflix offset a decline in Facebook. Netflix shares rose after the company confirmed it was testing ads on its platform.
The bull market turns 3,453 days old this Wednesday. Barring a 20 percent decline between now and then, it would mark the longest bull market in history, according to S&P.
Since the current bull market started on March 9, 2009, the S&P 500 has surged more than 300 percent.
"The length of this bull market is unprecedented but so was the decline we saw," said Shannon Saccocia, CIO at Boston Private. "The depths of the decline were really unprecedented; that's really an outlier." The current bull market started after the financial crisis.