NEW YORK, New York - Wall Street made solid gains on Monday as health-related stocks took off.

"You are looking for a way to re-enter the market on stocks that are going to give you an opportunity to participate," Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York told Reuters Thomson Monday.

"You look at some of those and say there is an opportunity for me to buy good companies with strong balance sheets that on the other side of this should produce."

President Donald Trump gave up on hsi idea of having the U.S. back to normal by Easter, proclaiming that the stay-at-home policy would be extended to at least 30 April.

At the close of trading Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead 690.7 points, or 3.19%, at 22,327.48.

The Standard and Poor's 500 advanced 85.18 points, or 3.35%, to 2,626.65.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 271.77 points, or 3.62%, to 7,774.15.

The U.S. dollar was a little stronger on Monday. The euro drifted down a half cent to 1.1045. The British pound eased to 1.2403. The Japanese yen fell to 107.87. The Swiss franc dipped to 0.9580.

The Canadian dollar weakened to 1.4176. The New Zealand dollar was down a tad at 0.6020. The Australian stock added a quarter-cent to 0.6175.

In Europe and the UK, shares made more modest gains. The German Dax rose 1.90%. In Paris, the CAC 40 was up 0.62%. London's FTSE 100 gained 0.97%.

On Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 in Japan drew to a close with a loss of 716.36 points or 3.69%, to finish at 18,673.07.

The Australian All Ordinaries, going against the trend, rose 91.90 points or 1.89% to 4,966.10.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 309.17 points or 1.32% to 23,175.11.

China's Shanghai Composite shed 24.99 points or 0.90% to 2,747.21.