Financial stocks led the market higher Monday afternoon as investors bet that major U.S. banks would emerge relatively unscathed from the dubai debt crisis.

Investors’ confidence that banks will benefit from continued efforts by governments around the world to prop up the global economy was bolstered by a statement from the troubled state-owned conglomerate dubai World that it was taking steps to restructure tens of billions of dollars in debt.

The dow jones Industrial Average broke into positive territory for good with 45 minutes to go to end with a gain of 34.92 points, up 0.3%, at 10344.84, helped by gains in all its financial components.

Bank of America rose 2.5%, J.P. Morgan Chase was up 2.8%, American Express rose 2.4%, and Travelers Group rose 1.4%. But the average’s retail components fell, with Home Depot off 0.9% and Wal-Mart Stores down 0.2%.

The late gains salvaged what had been a gloomy session through most of the day. Declines in consumer stocks kept major indexes in the red through most of the day due to concerns that the U.S. holiday-shopping season could be lackluster.

Now that Black Friday, which marks the unofficial start of the U.S. holiday-shopping season, has passed, some money managers are particularly worried that earlier buying in the consumer sector might have been overdone.

“We’re still bullish over the long run, but it is a little disconcerting to see the way breadth in the rally has fallen away lately,” said strategist steve charest, of divine capital markets.

The S&P 500’s financial sector leapt 2.7% on Monday — a gain more than triple that of the next best-performing category. The index finished with an overall gain of 0.3% to 1095.63.

As the month drew to a close, the S&P finished with a gain of 5.7%, while the Dow was up 6.5%. Both posted their biggest November gains since 2001.

Several economic reports Monday showed improvements. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported that its index of general business activity rose from the month before. The Midwest Manufacturing Index compiled by the federal reserve Bank of Chicago rose 0.5%, its fourth consecutive advance.

However, early readings of holiday shopping activity were mixed. More consumers shopped in stores and online than last year over the four-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation. But average spending dropped. Online shopping Monday was boosted by deep discounts.

“The consumer is in rough shape, and we don’t see any reason to change that view right now,” said Malcolm Polley, chief investment officer at Stewart capital Advisors, which has been out of the consumer sector altogether for more than a year.

Shares of most major retailers fell. Macy’s was off 3.9%, while JC Penney was off 2.8%. But Amazon.com bucked the trend, rallying 3.2% as some investors bet that online sales might hold up through year-end.

Some recent economic data, including gross domestic product, have suggested a budding U.S. economic recovery. However, home foreclosures have remained high and employment weak, suggesting that spending by individuals could remain under pressure.

“The job market trumps everything right now, and it’s still in a lot of trouble,” said Tim Knepp, chief investment officer at Genworth financial Asset Management. “In this environment, we’re still hearing about a lot of people bargain hunting and spending lower dollar amounts. That can’t be good for the overall retail-sales numbers.”

Other major stock indexes managed slight gains Monday. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.3%. The Russell 2000 was up 0.4%.

Commodity prices rose. The Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index was up 0.9% with gains for oil and gold.

The dollar slipped against both the euro and the yen, while Treasurys were little changed. The 10-year note was down 1/32 to yield 3.203%.