Dow ends up 200 points, stocks score back-to-back gains

U.S. stocks scored back-to-back gains on Monday in an attempt to claw back ground in a rough August for equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.62%
rose about 213 points, or 0.6%, ending near 34,560, according to preliminary data from FactSet. The S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.63%
closed 0.6% higher and the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+0.84%
gained 0.8%. Investors kicked of the final week of August on an upbeat note, while largely focusing on Thursday’s inflation data and Friday’s monthly jobs report to help inform the Federal Reserve’s path on interest rates and its inflation fight. The 10-year Treasury yield
TMUBMUSD10Y,
4.203%
eased back to about 4.20% late Monday after its sharp rise a week ago to its highest level since 2007. The Dow still was off about 2.8% so far in August, while the S&P 500 index was 3.4% lower and the Nasdaq was down 4.5%, according to FactSet.