By Mike Bird and Ese Erheriene 

Gains in technology shares propelled U.S. stocks higher Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 120 points, or 0.6%, to 21505, and the S&P 500 index added 0.7%, on track for fresh records. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3%.

Technology shares in the S&P 500 have risen about 19% this year, making tech the index's best-performing sector, but the stocks also have had some recent slumps. On Monday, the sector was headed toward its largest percentage increase of 2017, with some analysts saying investors were hunting for value after three sessions of declines.

"Now you're buying Apple at a discount," said Mike Bailey, director of research at FBB Capital Partners.

Apple was among the biggest gainers in Dow industrials, climbing 2.8% after falling in six of the past seven sessions. Cisco Systems added 1%. Shares of tech companies in the S&P 500 rose 1.6%, headed toward their biggest one-day advance since December.

U.S. government bonds weakened, with the yield on the two-year Treasury note near its 2017 high, after Federal Reserve Bank of New York president William Dudley signaled a willingness to gradually increase interest rates and to keep the economy humming.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.188%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.157% Friday. Yields rise as prices fall.

Mr. Dudley's comments may have been reassuring to those "worried that the Fed is looking to raise rates quickly, or too quickly," said Brian Nick, chief investment strategist at TIAA Investments, an affiliate of Nuveen Investments.

These comments, along with the results from France's legislative election, may have cheered stock investors today, Mr. Nick said.

European stocks gained ground after the French gave President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party an outright majority in the country's parliament. The victory of the French president's political party gives him a stronger mandate to implement his policies in the eurozone's second largest economy, while offering a further sign of the receding tide of populist European politics that concerned investors, analysts say.

"There is a new political wind blowing through Europe," said Vincent Juvyns, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "Macron can now more or less freely implement his program, he won't have to compromise as much as he did when he was economy minister."

France's CAC 40 index gained 0.9%. The Stoxx Europe 600 index added 0.9%. This week, investors are preparing for the start of formal Brexit negotiations and a decision on whether to include China's domestically traded A-shares in a benchmark emerging-market index that is widely followed.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average closed up 0.6%, with a softer yen aiding a move back above 20000 points. Hong Kong's Hang SengIndex gained 1.2%, and the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.7%.

--Ese Erheriene contributed to this article.

Write to Mike Bird at Mike.Bird@wsj.com and Ese Erheriene at ese.erheriene@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 19, 2017 15:22 ET (19:22 GMT)