New York, Aug 4 (IANS): US stocks ended higher, bolstered by strong gains in big tech names.

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 236.08 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 26,664.40. The S&P 500 was up 23.49 points, or 0.72 per cent, to 3,294.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 157.52 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 10,902.80, Xinhua news agency reported.

Shares of Microsoft soared 5.62 per cent, leading the gainers in the Dow.

Apple shares finished 2.52 per cent higher, after surging more than 10 percent on Friday. The company reported earnings results late Thursday that easily topped forecasts.

Of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors, technology advanced 2.49 per cent, outpacing the rest. Real estate, however, slipped 1.47 per cent, the worst-performing group.

Meanwhile, US-listed Chinese companies traded roughly higher, with all the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P US Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

On the data front, economic activity in the US manufacturing sector grew in July, with new orders and production driving much of the strength, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) on Monday.

US manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) registered 54.2 per cent in July, up 1.6 percentage points from the June reading of 52.6 per cent, the ISM reported.