U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Monday, with major indexes rallying in a broad advance as the first-quarter earnings season pointed to strong growth and geopolitical tensions showed signs of easing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9% to 24,579. The blue-chip average ended fractionally below its 50-day moving average, which it hasn't closed above since March 9. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 2,678 and ended in positive territory for the year, which it hasn't done since March 21. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 0.7% to 7,156. The day's gains were broad based, with all 11 S&P 500 sectors ending in positive territory. Among the day's most active stocks, Bank of America rose 0.4% after reporting results that topped analyst forecasts.