Stocks rose on Monday, spurred by optimism ahead of earnings from key technology companies and after Dow component Boeing announced strong orders.

Investors bet on solid reports from International Business Machines , the world's largest technology services provider, and chip maker Texas Instruments , hoping both would show strength similar to Intel's results last week. Intel's forecast-beating results had shown strength in technology spending.

That's where the earnings have been most positive, said Nick Kalivas, an analyst at MF Global. It makes sense that people would be a little bit more optimistic in that sector.

IBM closed up 1.4 percent to $129.79 and Texas Instruments finished up 3.2 percent to $25.55 on the New York Stock Exchange.

But shares of IBM fell more than 3 percent after the closing bell after its revenues missed expectations, and Texas Instruments slumped 5.6 percent. Stock index futures shed earlier gains to settle flat.

Boeing Co gained 2.1 percent to $63.18 during the regular session after it announced an order for 30 large airliners from Dubai-based Emirates and said it expects more orders this week, particularly from airplane leasing companies.

Halliburton Co kicked off a busy earnings week, posting a better-than-expected rise in profits, and shares of the oil field services company rallied 6 percent to $29.17.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 56.53 points, or 0.56 percent, to 10,154.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 6.37 points, or 0.60 percent, to 1,071.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 19.18 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,198.23.

The S&P 500 hit a session low of about 1,061, roughly at the index's 14-day moving average and the 23.6 percent retracement of the benchmark index's 2010 high-to-low decline, suggesting a level of resistance where pockets of buying would be expected.

Volume was among the lightest so far in 2010, with about 7.1 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. Last year's estimated daily average was 9.65 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of almost 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, about three stocks rose for every two that fell.

Wireless networking chipmaker Atheros Communications Inc , which counts Apple and Nintendo <7974.OS> among its customers, jumped 4.1 percent to $30.46 after a brokerage upgrade and helped the PHLX semiconductor index <.SOXX> rise 2.5 percent.

Entergy Corp forecast second-quarter profit above market estimates and backed its full-year earnings outlook. The power company's shares rose 2.2 percent to $77.64.

But home builder Hovnanian Enterprises dropped 4.7 percent to $3.84 after the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market index fell in July to its lowest level since April 2009.

Delta Air Lines Inc , the world's biggest air carrier, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, but revenue missed expectations and its shares fell as much as 11.3 percent before paring losses. Delta closed down 2.9 percent to $11.38 and an index of airline stocks <.XAL> dropped 0.7 percent.

Second-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to increase 30.2 percent from a year ago, up from an estimate of 27 percent a little more than a week ago, according to Thomson Reuters' data. The percentage combines both estimated earnings and actual results.

(Additional reporting by Matthew Lynley and Edward Krudy; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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