Stocks rose higher on Monday as market participants prepare for both a busy earnings week and the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee monetary policy meeting. Big tech names led the broader market as investors also hoped for more stimulus to be passed by Congress this week to offset the economic damage brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told CNN on Sunday that the new coronavirus relief bill is likely to offer another round of $1,200 direct deposits to individuals that qualify, as well as an array of benefits to businesses as they try to stay afloat amid shut downs and social restrictions. However, Kudlow stated that the plan is not expected to renew the full unemployment benefits that expire at the end of the month.

Here's how the market closed to start the week:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.74% or +23.87 points to 3,239.50

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.44% or +116.12 points to 26,586.01

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +1.67% or +173.09 to 10,536.27

For Major Stock News, big tech led gains as investors settled much of their economic fears ahead of a busy earnings week: Amazon (AMZN  ), Apple (AAPL  ), Facebook (FB  ), Google (GOOGL  ) and Netflix (NFLX  ). Moderna (MRNA  ) shares soared as the biotech received more funding for its potential coronavirus vaccine from the U.S. government as it begins its late-stage clinical trials. Biogen (BIIB  ) shares skyrocketed after Morgan Stanley (MS  ) upgraded the company to Overweight from Underweight and forecasted a 30% rally over the next year. DraftKings (DKNG  ) shares fell after some Major League Baseball games were postponed due to a small coronavirus outbreak.

For Sector Performance, most industries gained during Monday's positive market climb, with only Utilities -1.26% and Financials -0.86% falling behind. The sector increases were as follows: Information Technology +1.61%, Materials +1.41%, Real Estates +1.12%, Consumer Discretionary +0.87%, Communication Services +0.78%, Health Care +0.72%, Consumer Staples +0.54%, Industrials +0.39% and Energy +0.21%.

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) was pressured by other currencies on Monday, with the DXY Index falling by 0.72% ahead of the Fed's meeting this week. Crude oil prices pushed higher as investors hoped for more economic stimulus to keep future demand afloat. However, all gained with stunted by the ongoing coronavirus global crisis. West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) gained 0.75% to settle at $41.60 per barrel, while Brent Crude ticked slightly higher to close at $43.41 per barrel. Gold (GLD  ) prices surged to record heights on Monday due to geopolitical tensions and coronavirus economic fears. Spot gold rose by 1.9% to $1,938.11 per ounce, while futures gained 1.9% to $1,931 per ounce.

"While we think gold will continue to be supported by rising geopolitical tensions, in our view the primary drivers of the gold price are its negative correlation to real interest rates and the dollar. We think thees three factor, in combination with limited supply growth as miners continue to restrain capital spending, will drive gold prices higher," UBS chief investment offer Mark Haefele told clients Monday, quoted by CNBC.

For Tuesday, the Fed will begin their two-day policy meeting. Investors will also turn their attention to quarterly earnings from big hitters like McDonald's (MCD  ) and Pfizer (PFE  ).