Nasdaq hits record close as French vote boosts stocks

New York - The Nasdaq surged to a record close on Monday as US stocks joined a global rally following the strong performance by centrist French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron in the first round of voting on Sunday.

The Nasdaq gained 1.2% to finish the day at 5 983.82 points, up about 67 points from a record set last week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% to end the session at 20 763.89, and the broad-based S&P 500 also advanced 1.1% to close at 2 374.15.

Global markets enjoyed a strong day after Macron advanced to the second round in the French vote on May 7, with polls showing him decisively leading anti-EU, anti-immigration candidate Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front party.

"Markets are taking the news out of France very positively with the outcome of the first round of the election easing some of the concerns that had been in the market," said David Levy, portfolio manager of Republic Wealth Advisors.

• READ: Rand breaches R12.90/$ as markets cheer French vote

As in Europe, banking shares led the US market, with Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase all winning about 3% or more.

Technology shares also did well, with Google parent Alphabet, Facebook and Expedia all advancing more than 1%.

Health care supplier CR Bard jumped 19.5% after reaching an agreement to be acquired by Becton Dickinson and Company for $24bn. Becton Dickinson lost 4.5%.

US paints and coatings group PPG rose 1.8% after it again lifted its bid for AkzoNobel to at about 24.6 billion euros. The Dutch paintmaker has rejected to earlier bids.

Toy company Hasbro gained 5.9% as it reported a 40.6% jump in first quarter net income to $68.6m. Revenues rose 2% to $849.7m.