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New York - The S&P 500 finished at a fresh record on Monday and the Dow rose back above 22 000 as US stocks rallied after Hurricane Irma avoided a worst-case scenario.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 1.1% to close at 2 488.11, about seven points above the last record set in early August.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2% to 22 057.37, moving back above 22 000 for the first time since mid-August, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.1% to 6 432.26.
After ripping through the Caribbean, killing at least 40 people, Hurricane Irma left millions without power in Florida and felled plenty of trees and traffic lights.
But the storm's track took it further west than earlier forecasts suggested, sparing Miami and Orlando the worst of the storm and inflicting less damage overall than feared.
Experts estimated a total bill for Florida in the tens of billions of dollars instead of more than $100bn that was feared.
After dodging the nightmare scenario in Florida, insurers were big winners on Wall Street, with Travelers gaining 2.3%, Allstate 1.8% and Progressive 2.3%.
Banking stocks also had a good day, benefiting from a bounce in bond yields. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs all climbed more than 1.5%.
Apple gained 1.8% ahead of an expected launch of its new iPhone on Tuesday. Other tech shares also were strong, including Netflix, which won 3.0% and Tesla Motors, which surged 5.9%.
But Home Depot and Lowe's, two home-improvement retailers, lost 0.8% and 1.4%, respectively, on the view they will see less of a jump in post-storm sales.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries surged 19.4% after announcing it named long time drug industry executive Kare Schultz to become its chief executive, ending a lengthy search for a new leader.
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