The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.34% led major stock indexes higher in the final hour of trading on Monday, as investors clung to the hope that disappointing economic data might convince Federal Reserve policy makers to back off aggressive rate hikes by year-end. The Dow was up almost 500 points, or 1.6%, while the S&P 500 SPX, +1.19% gained 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +0.86% was higher by 1%. Monday’s release of purchasing managers indexes for Europe and the U.S., which missed expectations, was cited as one of the main reasons for the stock market’s rally.
