Wall Street rises, S&P nears all-time high

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced on Monday, heading into the start of earnings season, building on gains sparked by last week's robust employment report and pushing the S&P 500 closer to its all-time high set in May.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 89.47 points, or 0.59 percent, to end unofficially at 15,225.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 8.60 points, or 0.53 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,640.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 5.45 points, or 0.16 percent, to close unofficially at 3,484.83.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal)