Indices closed well into the green zone on Monday. Bank of America, Hewlett-Packard, JPMorgan Chase, and Verizon led the Dow’s ascent. Stocks rallied amid a variety of economic news. Existing home sales increased in October. The National Association of Realtors reported that sales climbed by 2.1% to an annual rate of 4.79 million, from a downwardly revised 4.69 million in September. Economists had expected 4.75 million sales in October. In merger news, Cisco Systems announced Sunday, that it was acquiring cloud computing company Meraki for $1.2 billion. Elsewhere, crude oil futures added $2.36 today to settle at $89.28 a barrel. Looking ahead, quarterly results are due for release tomorrow from Best Buy and Campbell Soup.