Wall Street was higher on Monday on indications that companies had enough cash, credit and confidence to undertake big-ticket deals. Xerox and Abbot Laboratories, the pharmaceutical company, have announced two separate deals, after Dell expanded its presence in the computer-services sector last week by buying Perot Systems,and Kraft Foods found itself in a takeover drama with British candy maker, Cadbury.

The message to investors is that corporate America feels good enough about the recovery and finds that it is time to expand. Initial public stock offerings have risen recently as these positive signs of merger activity indicates that the financial system is normalizing.

The third quarter is winding down, and analysts believe that stocks most probably will get a lift, as mutual funds buy the best performing stocks to dress up their portfolio. in time for their quarterly performance statements.

Technology stocks lead the up swing on Monday on news that Xerox would pay $6.4 billion to buy Affiliated Computer Services. Affiliated stock rose nearly 15 percent, as Xerox shares dipped slightly.

The Labor Department releases its monthly employment report on Friday, with economists predicting the unemployment rate climbing to 9.8 percent from 9.7 percent, even as the number of payroll job losses slows. Investors will get more information on the housing market this week with the release of the Case-Shiller Home Price Index on Tuesday.