Stocks Post Strong Gains, Led by Citigroup

Global financial services giant Citigroup (NYSE:C) released its third quarter earnings results on Monday prior to the opening bell. The bank exceeded Wall Street earnings and revenue expectations and sparked positive sentiment in the markets. Citi shares rose 5.50 percent to $36.66.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added around 95 points to finish at 13,424. The widely watched blue-chip index traded in a range between 13,326 and 13,437.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) rose 0.83 percent and closed at $144.08. Volume was noticeabley light with only 84 million SPY shares trading hands compared to a 3-month daily average of 120.6 million.

The PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) added 0.73 percent to $67.17. Year-to-date, the QQQ has now risen a little better than 20 percent.

The U.S. crude oil benchmark was slightly lower on Monday, while Brent crude rose. NYMEX Crude futures fell 0.12 percent to $91.75 at last check, while Brent crude futures added around 1 percent to $115.77.

Gold fell on the session despite strong risk appetite in stocks. COMEX gold futures declined around 1.25 percent to $1,737.70. Silver was also lower, with futures falling 2.86 percent to $32.705. The heavily traded SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE:GLD) closed down 1 percent to $168.35.

Treasuries registered a small loss on the session. The iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE:TLT) lost 0.23 percent to close at $123.68. The yield on the 10-Year Note rose 1.2 basis points to 1.67 percent.

The U.S. dollar was essentially flat on the day. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF (NYSE:UUP), which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, rose 0.02 percent to $21.83. The closely watched EUR/USD pair declined 0.12 percent to $1.2942.