Stocks closed solidly higher on Wall Street Monday, aided by a broad rally that includes travel-related companies that stand to benefit from more reopening of the economy.

The S&P 500 rose 1.2%, making up nearly all the ground lost last week. Technology companies and banks accounted for a big slice of the gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.9%. The Nasdaq rose 0.9%.

Traders were encouraged to see that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's chief medical adviser, said early indications suggested that the new omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus may be less dangerous than the delta variant.