NEW YORK—US stocks rose Monday as the price of oil fell below $125 per barrel and financial shares, including bond insurer MBIA Inc., rallied.

Investors also snapped up big-cap technology shares, driving the Nasdaq up more than one percent, on hopes that the US economy may not be in the worst shape. Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. jumped 6.8 percent to $141.71 on optimism about its new BlackBerry Bold smartphone.

Oil prices slipped from record highs set last week as the dollar approached a two-month peak before slipping against the euro.

Stocks also received a boost after Citigroup raised its price target on Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer.

MBIA, which reported a quarterly loss, said new business volume appeared to be rising in the current quarter.

"If the dollar continues to rally and the price of oil declines, as some, including myself, expect, that could provide a very positive outcome for the markets, but nobody is willing to bet a lot on it," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at Johnson Illington Advisors in Albany, New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 111.38 points, or 0.87 percent, to 12,857.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 10.10 points, or 0.73 percent, to 1,398.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 31.65 points, or 1.29 percent, to 2,477.17.

Johnson said that for now there was a division of opinion in the market, with many participants convinced the US economy will recover in the second half of 2008 and others worried that a recovery will be derailed.

MBIA shares rose 5.5 percent to $9.94.

Financial shares also got a lift from stronger-than-expected first-quarter results from HSBC, Europe's largest bank, which eased concerns about the banking sector. HSBC said growth in Asia and elsewhere helped counter a hit from its exposure to US home loans.
Wal-Mart rose 1.7 percent to $58.15 after Citigroup raised its price target for the stock, saying international growth should help offset weakness in the United States.

Among tech gainers, International Business Machines Corp rose 1.3 percent to $125.63 and was among the biggest contributors to the rise in the Dow.

The price of crude fell $1.16 to below $125 per barrel.