The advance followed a wave of profit-taking that began Friday. Investors were buying cautiously, but that wasn't surprising given the size of the market's recent advance and analysts' doubts about the durability of the gains.

"Investors are a little hesitant to commit more capital until September passes," said Jeff Kleintop, chief investment strategist for PNC Financial Services Group in Philadelphia. "We probably aren't going to see a rush of buyers in the next few weeks."

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 46.05, or 0.5 percent, at 8,919.01, according to preliminary calculations. The Dow dropped 180 points Friday as investors collected profits from five straight weekly gains. Last week, the Dow rose 1.1 percent.

The market's broader gauges were also higher today after shaking off an earlier bout of profit taking. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.09, or nearly 0.8 percent, to 947.95, having captured a five consecutive weekly advances.

The Nasdaq composite index advanced 11.05, or 0.8 percent, to 1,391.67, having risen three weeks in a row.

The market's advance solidified late in the session, which analysts attributed to investors wanting to play it safe ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend and to concern about the possibility of war with Iraq. Analysts expect investors to continue to trade cautiously in coming weeks.

"Investors are going to be playing it coolly," said Joseph V. Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan, Beck & Co. LLC. "Given a five-week rally where you can take some profits, it is not surprising."

Whether the market's recent gains are a short-term blip in the bear market or the start of a longer-term, lasting advance remains to be seen. For answers, investors next month will look to see how the market handles the latest round of economic data and third-quarter profit warnings ­ whether negative, positive or as expected.

Among today's gainers, Hershey Foods rose $1.77 to $76.80 on a report published in USA Today, saying that Swiss food and beverage conglomerate Nestle is offering $11.5 billion to acquire the nation's largest candymaker.

Clear Channel Communications rose $1.48 to $34.65 after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the media company.

Hewlett-Packard advanced 15 cents to $14.85 ahead of its fiscal third-quarter earnings due out tomorrow.

But UPS fell 57 cents to $64.71 on a downgrade from Morgan Stanley.

And, Fairchild Semiconductor dropped $1.06 to $13.59 after Bear Stearns downgraded the stock, citing the company's price cuts.

Advancing issues led decliners 5 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange where volume was light.