Major U.S. stock-market benchmarks ended Monday’s session at records as investors remained attuned to developments in the U.S.-China trade relationship and cheered a wave of merger activity.

How did the major benchmarks fare?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.68% advanced 190.85 points, or 0.7%, to end at 28,066.47, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP, +1.32% climbed 112.60 points, or 1.3%, to 8,632.49. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.75% ended 23.35 points higher at 3,133.64, a gain of 0.8%.

The Dow ended the day above its previous closing high of 28,036.22 set Nov. 18, the S&P 500 surpassed its previous closing record of 8,570.66 set on Nov. 19, while the Nasdaq finished the session above its last closing high of 3,122.03 set on Nov. 18. All three benchmarks also set new intraday highs on Monday.

What drove the market?
Analysts said investors remain sensitive to headlines around U.S.-China trade talks, with remarks Saturday by Robert O’Brien, the U.S. national security adviser, in the spotlight. O’Brien told reporters at a security conference in Halifax that a “phase-one” deal between the U.S. and China by the end of the year still appeared possible, Reuters reported, while also warning that the U.S. would not “turn a blind eye to what’s happening in Hong Kong or what’s happening in the South China Sea, or other areas of the world where we’re concerned about China’s activity.”