By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market rallied Monday following upbeat economic data and a reaction from Western governments to the vote in Crimea that was limited to visa bans and asset freezes.

The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 20.36 points, or 0.9%, to 1,857,02, recouping some of the steep losses from last week. Industrials and technology stocks were leading broad-based gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) jumped 196 points, or 1.1%, to 16,222.40, with all 30 components trading higher.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rallied 54.26 points, or 1.1%, at 4,289.82.

Follow our stock market coverage on live blog.

There were a batch of economic reports before and after the market open. Industrial production in February grew at the fastest monthly rate in six months, bouncing back after a weather-addled start to the year. An index of manufacturing conditions in the New York region showed modest improvement in March after a sharp drop in the prior month.

Separately, a gauge of confidence among home builders ticked up in March, but remained close to the lowest level since May and signaled that builders, generally, are pessimistic about sales trends, according to data released Monday.

Later this week, investors will also get a Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

The Wall Street Journal reported that according to preliminary results, more than 95% of Crimeans voted to break away from Ukraine on Sunday.

EU foreign ministers on Monday imposed visa bans on 21 Russian officials and froze assets, according the Wall Street Journal citing sources. U.S. officials could deliver on a first round of sanction on Monday.

Among individual stocks, Yahoo (YHOO) shares rose 4.1%. The company owns a 24% stake in Alibaba, which is reportedly getting ready for an initial public offering in New York. At the same time, Alibaba's smartphone-payment system has been blocked by China because of potential consumer risks.

Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) shares rose 3.2%. The company said late Friday its board had approved the April 4 spinoff of its Lands' End business.

VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) shares dropped 5%. Cowan & Co. downgraded VeriSign to a market perform rating from outperform on Monday and cut its price target to $49 from $63.

Shares in Castlight Health Inc. (CSLT) dropped 5.4% following a 149% jump in the market debut on Friday.

After a week of volatile trading, Plug Power Inc (PLUGD) shares gained 6.1%. Buying interest in Plug Power on the back of a major deal with Wal-Mart was dampened by bearish comments from analysts last week.

In overseas markets, gains were also seen across Europe, with the Stoxx Europe 600 up 0.6% and emerging markets getting a bump. Russia's blue-chip MICEX index climbed 2% after a drop of more than 7% last week.

Asia, meanwhile, saw a mixed session, with some indexes pulling back on Ukraine worries. But the China Shanghai Composite climbed 1%, led by property, auto and cement companies, after the government reportedly outlined urbanization-spending plans.

Prices for gold (GCJ4) were almost unchanged, while the dollar (USDJPY) regained some ground as investors shifted away from the perceived safe haven of the Japanese yen.

More must reads from MarketWatch:

After Crimea secession vote, what's next for markets?

The case for buying emerging markets

5 ways the Fed can get the economy back to normal

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more VeriSign Charts.
VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more VeriSign Charts.