U.S. stocks ended sharply higher on Monday, pushing the blue-chip Dow to its highest level in almost a year, after a report on New York state's manufacturing sector proved surprisingly strong and sparked hopes that the U.S. economy will recover later this year.

Analysts said many investors were opting to jump in after Friday's moderate decline in anticipation of stronger profit growth. Mutual fund mangers, in particular, want to take advantage for fear of missing the next big rally.

"The people have been buying the dips," said Russ Koesterich, U.S. equity strategist at State Street Corp. in Boston. "The New York index came in above expectations, and there was an upgrade of Yahoo that's encouraging people."

The Dow closed up 201.84, or 2.2 percent, at 9,318.96, following a weekly advance of 0.6 percent. It was the Dow's largest one-day gain since April 2, when the blue chips closed 215.20 points higher. On Friday, the blue chips lost 79 points.

The Dow now stands at its highest close since it reached 9,379.50 on July 5, 2002.

The broader market also finished sharply higher. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 40.09, or 2.5 percent, to 1,666.58, after slipping 0.1 percent last week. The Nasdaq is at its highest close since May 23, 2002, when it reached 1,697.63.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 22.13, or 2.2 percent, to 1,010.74, having risen 0.1 percent last week. It was also the index's strongest advance since April 2, when the S&P closed 22.42 points higher. The index is now at its highest close since June 19, 2002, when it stood at 1,019.99.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its general business conditions index for June rose to 26.80, the highest level on record, from 10.60 in May, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The reading boosted hope of a strong reading for the Philadelphia regional index, which is seen as an indicator of national manufacturing activity.

Stocks have rallied for three months as investors bet on an economic recovery by year's end. Some analysts believe the market is firmly in an upward trend, citing improving corporate profits, although others believe stocks are due for a major pullback after advancing so quickly.

Since hitting a low for the year on March 11, the Dow is up about 24 percent, the Nasdaq higher 31 percent and the S&P is up 26 percent.

"The market is a bit overbought and has been for a few weeks now," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at Spencer Clarke LLC. "However, it appears the path of least resistance is higher for the moment. ... As long as the economic news continues to gradually improve, it seems like equity prices most likely have further upside in the next six to 12 months."

Koesterich added that the coming weeks will be a key test for the market as the season of second-quarter profit warnings kicks in.

"We need evidence of top-line revenue growth," he said. "A lot of companies' growth has been a function of cost-cutting and a lower dollar. ... So the second-half economic rebound is still in question."

All 30 stocks making up the Dow Jones industrials advanced, including Boeing, which increased $1.07 to $36.41 after the airline manufacturer said it expected a $5.2 trillion market for new aviation services over the next 20 years.

General Electric, another Dow component, rose 69 cents to $31.34 after the diversified company reached a tentative four-year agreement with two of its largest labor unions regarding wages, pensions and benefits.

Yahoo! gained $1.94 to $30.66 after Soundview Technology raised the Internet company's stock rating to "outperform" from "neutral," citing good growth prospects.

Cell Therapeutics increased $1.73, or 13.3 percent, to $14.75 after the drug maker said it will get a faster review from regulators of its lung cancer drug Xyotax.

Decliners included ChevronTexaco, which slipped 11 cents to $74.94, after Deutsche Securities lowered the oil company's stock rating.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was moderate at 1.69 billion shares, compared with 1.65 billion traded Friday.

The Russell 2000 index, a barometer of smaller company stocks, rose 7.76, or 1.7 percent, to 457.47.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average finished 1.6 percent lower Monday. In Europe, France's CAC-40 advanced 2.1 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent and Germany's DAX index climbed 3 percent.

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