U.S. stocks rose Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reversing a 184-point drop as the euro’s rebound from a four-year low bolstered optimism that the shared European currency will weather the region’s debt crisis.

Sprint Nextel Corp. climbed 3 percent to help lead telephone companies to the biggest gain among 10 groups after saying “steep” revenue declines have ended. GLG Partners Inc. rallied 50 percent as Man Groupc agreed to buy the hedge-fund firm for $1.6 billion, and Pactiv Corp. surged 19 percent after a person with knowledge of the discussions said Apollo Global Management may buy the maker of Hefty trash bags.

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Protesters gather Monday in front of Bank of America in Washington during a rally against lobbyists representing Wall Street, corporations and anti-immigrant groups. The Associated Press

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.1 percent to finish at 1,136.94 at 4 p.m. in New York, recovering from a 1.8 percent slide. The Dow rose 5.67 points, or 0.1 percent, to 10,625.83.

Equities rebounded from early losses as the euro gained 0.3 percent to $1.2399, snapping a four-day losing streak and rebounding from its lowest level since April 2006, reached earlier in the day.

“It was quite a remarkable turnaround,” said John Carey, Boston-based money-manager at Pioneer Investment Management, which oversees about $230 billion. “The fact that the euro has reversed its earlier losses is a hopeful sign given there’s so much concern about the European debt situation. The market was oversold. The economic recovery is still in place. M&A deals are an indication of that.”

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