By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose in the technology sector on Monday while crude oil prices fell as investors hoped for promised economic stimulus from China and braced for a series of high-profile corporate earnings in weak Columbus Day trading.

Megacap growth stocks with an adjacent technology sector lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 sharply, sending the latter to a new record closing high, while the blue-chip Dow was narrowly positive, hovering near Friday’s all-time closing high .

“We have good momentum behind stocks in general, with major indexes hitting all-time highs,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.

Oil prices fell and the dollar stagnated as grim news from China fueled fears of a slowdown in global demand.

On Saturday, Beijing pledged to “significantly increase” debt to breathe life into the world’s second-largest economy, but disappointed investors with the lack of detail.

This was followed by a report on Monday that showed a sharp slowdown in Chinese export growth that fell far short of expectations, underscoring the need for strong stimulus measures.

“China is having economic difficulties,” Stovall added. “Oil prices are another indication of a lack of confidence that China will be able to pull itself up on its own, especially because the details of the stimulus measures are so sketchy.”

The bond market was closed for Columbus Day and there were no earnings reports or economic data to influence investor sentiment.

That will change later in the week as planned data releases include retail sales, industrial production and housing starts/permits.

High-profile earnings expected for the rest of the week include Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Netflix and a host of healthcare and industrial names.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.32 points or 0.10% to 42,911.18, the S&P 500 rose 40.75 points or 0.70% to 5,855.78 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 180.90 points or 0.99% to 18,524.37.

European stocks rose slightly as investors digested China’s stimulus package and focused on earnings season and a European Central Bank (ECB) policy meeting later this week.

MSCI’s global stock index rose 3.69 points, or 0.43%, to 856.42.

The STOXX 600 index rose 0.45%, while the broad European FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 10.11 points, or 0.49%.

Emerging market stocks fell 0.10 points, or 0.01%, to 1,159.46. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan closed 0.01% higher at 613.70, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 224.91 points, or 0.57%, to 39,605.80.

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The dollar neared recent highs against a basket of world currencies as the euro slipped ahead of the ECB meeting.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and euro, rose 0.2% to 103.25, while the euro fell 0.28% to $1.0906.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar gained 0.54% to 149.94.

Crude oil prices fell as economic uncertainties from China and the fifth straight decline in Chinese oil imports cast doubt on global demand.

U.S. crude oil fell 2.05% to $73.98 a barrel and Brent fell to $77.48 a barrel, a daily loss of 1.97%.

Gold retreated from a one-week high as investor risk appetite improved.

Spot gold fell 0.27% to $2,649.50 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.09% to $2,655.30 an ounce.

(Reporting by Stephen Culp; additional reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe and Alun John in London; Editing by Andrew Heavens)