U.S. Stocks gained momentum during Monday's morning trading as bargain hunters bought beaten-down shares amidst expectations that Friday's jobless report will cause the Fed to further cut interest rates to ward off an economic recession.

Fast food giant McDonald's Corp. gained 1.7 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported the franchise would launch 14,000 coffee bars with baristas serving cappuccinos and lattes in direct competition to Starbucks Corp. Shares of Starbucks were up 2 percent.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 45.84 points in early morning trade to 12,846.02 at 11:35am on the New York Stock Exchange, with 21 of its 30 components trading higher and with Altria Group Inc. leading the blue-chip index's early gains, its stock up 2.4 percent.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 7.29, or 0.5 percent, to 1,418.92 while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 10.44, or 0.4 percent to 2,509.25.

Coffee