Monday

U.S. stocks closed at their highest level in more than four months today as encouraging financial and home builder earnings boosted confidence in the economic recovery. Today's gains accelerated after the National Bureau of Economic Research, the unofficial arbiter of recessions' start and end dates, said the recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. Helping to bolster confidence in the global economic recovery, Moody's retained its stable outlook on the U.K., saying the country's current triple-A rating should remain safe if their fiscal consolation plan stays on target. DJIA +145.77 Nasdaq +40.22 S&P 500 +17.12.