The Dow industrials rose more than 2 percent on Monday as stocks extended gains in late trading, boosted by bullish comments on financials from analyst Meredith Whitney. The S&P was also up more than 2 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 175.41 points, or 2.15 percent, at 8,321.93. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 20.47 points, or 2.33 percent, at 899.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 34.01 points, or 1.94 percent, at 1,790.04.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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