Stocks soared to new 2009 highs Monday after investors found comfort in comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and encouraging retail sales data.

Convinced the Fed will keep interest rates low to stimulate the economy, investors pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up 136.49 points to 10,406.96. It's up 18.6% this year.

Meanwhile, boosted mostly by stocks in the wireless telecom, broadcasting and coal industries, the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 15.82 to 1109.30.

Monday's gain marked the first time the S&P has closed above the 1100 mark since Oct. 2, 2008, S&P says. The S&P 500 first closed above 1100 on March 24, 1998. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 29.97 points to 2197.85. It's up 39.4% this year.

The broad Wilshire 5000 index jumped 1.6% Monday, meaning investors are up $5.5 trillion since the March 9 low.

At a speech at the Economic Club of New York, Bernanke again stated the Fed's plan is to keep interest rates very low for "an extended period" (story, 6B). Investors waiting for consumers to open their wallets also were pleased with a report from the Commerce Department showing retail sales rose 1.4% in October. Whether consumers will pick up spending has been a big question looming over the stock market.

Some worry, though, the economy and stock market are completely dependent on the stimulus from the government. "If the fundamentals don't support increasing (stock) prices, it means a bubble is building," says Michael Farr of Farr Miller & Washington.

Farr suspects stocks could run into trouble if there's additional economic evidence the economy is picking up. That would mean the government might need to scale back stimulus.

Investors who were terrified of stocks just a year ago are now unabashedly and mysteriously bullish, says Jennifer Ellison of Bingham Osborn & Scarborough. "It amazes me how horrified people were last year, but they seem very willing now to buy (stocks) and push up stock prices."

Highlights: Target rose $1.30 to $50.29 as investors piled into retailers' shares. The S&P retail index rose 1.1% and is up 47% this year.

*Intel rose 41 cents to $20.23 after the maker of computer chips raised its quarterly dividend by 12.5% to 15.75 cents a share. (c) Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

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