Dow closes above 25,000 for the first time since March as US-China trade war is placed 'on hold'
Stocks closed higher on Monday as trade tensions between the U.S. and China dissipated for the moment, while investor sentiment was also boosted by news of dealmaking activity.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 298.20 points to 25,013.29. Boeing, Caterpillar and United Technologies, big exporters likely to benefit from easing trade tensions, were the best-performing stocks in the index . Monday also marked the first time since mid-March that the Dow closed above 25,000.

The gained 0.7 percent and closed at 2,733.01 as industrials jumped 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5 percent to 7,394.04 as semiconductors pushed tech higher.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said over the weekend the prospect of a trade war was "on hold" following an agreement to suspend tariff threats.

On Saturday, negotiators from the world's two largest economies said they would continue talking about measures under which Beijing would import more energy and agricultural commodities from the U.S. in an effort to bridge the $335 billion annual U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China.

"This should offer investors some relief over trade concerns," said Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird. "However, we expect that trading jitters will continue as the U.S. still has plans to apply steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union by month-end."