New York - The Nasdaq composite closed above 5,000 for the first time since its dot-com era peak nearly 15 years ago after merger news and an encouraging economic report helped push U.S. stocks broadly higher on Monday.

The major indexes rose from the start, with the Nasdaq passing the 5,000- milestone shortly before noon. The tech heavy index then dropped, before rising toward the close to end at 5,008.10, just 40 points from its March 2000 record.

Investors cheered a report from the government showing household incomes rose in January, though they spent less than a month earlier. Consumer discretionary stocks rose 1.2 percent on the news, the most of the 10 industry sectors of the Standard and Poor's 500 index.

"Today, it's about the consumer," said David Joy, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial. "Consumers appear to be feeling a little bit better."

The S&P 500 closed up 12.89 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,117.39. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 155.93 points, or 0.9 percent, to 18,288.63.

The broad gains on the first trading day of March came after the best monthly advance for stocks in more than three years. The S&P 500 climbed 5.5 percent in February, its biggest gain since October 2011.

In deal news, NXP Semiconductors said Sunday that it's planning to acquire Freescale Semiconductor in an $11.8 billion deal. The merger would create the largest supplier of microchips for cars.

Cardinal Health rose $1.53, or 1.7 percent, to $89.52 after offering to buy a unit of Johnson & Johnson that makes heart devices for $1.94 billion.

In the government report, the dip in consumer spending in January was the second monthly drop in a row. But adjusted for inflation, spending rose. And analysts expect the strong income gains will lead to more spending the rest of the year.