New York ? Better-than-expected profits from Motorola Inc. lifted Wall Street higher Monday as investors grew more optimistic that third-quarter earnings in general will be strong. The Dow Jones industrials rose nearly 90 points to a 16-month high.

Volume was light as the bond market was closed for Columbus Day and Japan’s financial markets were closed for a national holiday.

“It’s a bit of a surprise to see this much strength on a low volume day. You have to give credit to the Motorola numbers,” said Peter Dunay, chief market strategist at Wall Street Access, a New York-based brokerage firm.

The Dow closed up 89.70, or 0.9 percent, at 9,764.38, having gained 1.1 percent last week for its third winning week in four. Monday’s close was the highest level since June 5, 2002, when the blue chips closed at 9,796.80.