* S&P 500 breaks above 200-day moving average
* Bank shares lifted after Basel III agreement
* Upbeat China factory data boosts economic optimism
* Indexes up: Dow 0.8 pct, S&P 1.1 pct, Nasdaq 1.9 pct (Updates to close)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks advanced to their highest levels in five weeks on Monday, taking the S&P 500 index near the top of its summer range on upbeat Chinese factory data and new global banking rules.
The rally sent the S&P 500 above its 200-day moving average for the first time since early August, which was seen as a bullish sign.
Investors are now looking to the 1,130 level, which has not been pierced since May, but if surpassed, could signal more gains on the horizon.
"They are just numbers but at the same time they represent important psychological tests for many Wall Street professionals," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Hugh Johnson Advisors LLC in Albany.
"The trend in the market ... is very important, because good trends become better trends."
Banks were among the top performers on Wall Street.
Global regulators agreed to force banks to more than triple their top-quality capital reserves in hopes of preventing another credit crisis. But the new rules, known as "Basel III," provide transition periods that could extend to January 2019 or later -- more time than many bankers expected.
JPMorgan Chase & Co rose 3.5 percent to $41.15 as one of the top boosts to the Dow. The KBW Bank index gained 3.1 percent.
Chinese factories ramped up production in August, data showed, while a key measure of money growth easily topped expectations. The data built on recently improved sentiment in U.S. markets as worries eased over whether the economy was headed back into recession.
"What it suggests -- at least with the China demand and with the European banks doing what they are doing -- is there is not a massive double dip or something really disturbing underneath the surface and that is why we are rallying," said Kevin Kruszenski, head of listed trading at KeyBanc Capital Markets in Cleveland.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 81.36 points, or 0.78 percent, to 10,544.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 12.35 points, or 1.11 percent, to 1,121.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 43.23 points, or 1.93 percent, to 2,285.71.
Indexes were on pace for a fourth consecutive winning session, including an eighth day of gains out of the last nine for the S&P 500 and Dow. With Monday's rise, all three indexes were in positive territory for the year.
Another acquisition in the technology sector added to the optimism.
Hewlett-Packard Co will buy cybersecurity company ArcSight Inc for $1.5 billion, the latest in a series of technology-sector transactions. ArcSight surged 25.1 percent to $$43.91, while HP edged up 0.2 percent at $38.26.
Volume was light with about 6.9 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, well below last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.
Advancing stocks handily outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by three to one, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by a ratio of nearly four to one.