(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stocks finished with mild gains on Monday as investors welcomed better than expected economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 15.27 points or 0.17% to finish at 9,108.51. The S&P 500 advanced 2.92 points or 0.30% to end at 982.18. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.93 points or 0.10% to 1,967.89.

A release by Commerce Department on Monday showed that new home sales in the U.S. climbed 11% to seasonally adjusted 384,000 annual pace. Economists expected new home sales to rise to 352,000.

Shares of financials rallied. Bank of America (NYSE: ) soared 58 cents or 4.64% to $13.09.Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: ) gained 75 cents or 3.20% to $24.22. On the other hand, American Express (NYSE: ) lost $1.13 or 3.83% to close at $28.38.

Shares of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: ), the largest US aluminum maker, jumped 28 cents or 2.54% to $11.30.

Equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: ) surged 86 cents or 2.95% to $42.86.

Shares of diversified US firm General Electric (NYSE: ) rose 29 cents or 2.41% to $12.32.

Early on Monday, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: ) announced that second-quarter profit slipped 7.2% to $3.16 billion, or 52 cents a share, from $3.40 billion, or 66 cents a share, in the prior year quarter. Revenue surged 11.3% to $26.9 billion. Shares of the company tumbled to 50 cents or 1.

Software giant Microsoft Corp.