Stocks and most exchange traded funds notched sizable gains Monday after a slew of merger activities and a post-electoral bounce in Europe.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 131 points to 9796. The Nasdaq gained 41 to 2132 and the S&P 500 rose 18 to 1062. Light trading volume and a broad rally ensured that most ETFs not betting against market momentum finished in positive territory.

Abbott Laboratories (ABT) climbed after it said it will buy the pharmaceutical business of Belgium's Solvay (SVYSY) for as much as $7 billion in a deal that would expand its presence in emerging markets.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said it bought 18.1% of Crucell (CRXL) for $442.7 million and will pay development milestones and royalty payments if the flu vaccines the firms plan to develop reach the market. Crucell shares rose slightly.

In Europe, stocks were climbing. London's FTSE 100 was higher by about 1.76% and Germany's DAX was up about 2.8% after Sunday's election, in which incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right coalition won that country's national elections, setting the stage for tax cuts and labor-market changes. For a detailed rundown on Monday s trading session see our market story.

Winners

The broad rally pushed financial services stocks ahead of major indexes and sent shares of the Financial Select Sector SPDR fund (XLF) up 3.4%. The iShares Dow Jones US Financial Sector Index fund (IYF) climbed 2.3%.

Losers

Natural gas prices declined and a new share issue sent the United States Natural Gas fund (UNG) down 1.9%. The iShares S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index fund (PFF) for corporate debt rated BBB or better slipped 0.4%.

Monday s Industry Headlines

Launching Pad
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Swiss commodity supplier Glencore International and Credit Suisse Group have paired up to offer an exchange-traded fund backed by actual aluminum, using the same principles as ETFs backed by silver and gold bullion. The application has been filed with regulatory agencies.

Tuesday s Notebook

Earnings and Conference Calls
Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, China Precision Steel, Darden Restaurants, Jabil Circuit, Landec, Micron Technology, Nike, Sealy, SMF Energy, Walgreen, Worthington Industries

Economic Data
7:45 a.m. ICSC-Goldman Store Sales
8:55 a.m. Redbook
9:00 a.m. S&P Case-Shiller Housing Price Index
10:00 a.m. Consumer Confidence
10:00 a.m. State Street Investor Confidence Index

Quick Take

A look at how the industry's most popular ETFs did on Monday.