The S&P 500 hit a five-year high after stocks got a boost from reports suggesting the outlook for economic growth may be improving. The index closed at the highest since December 2007, when the US was entering the Great Recession. It also closed at a five-year high on Friday and is now 93 points below its record high in October 2007. Helping to lift stocks was the European Central Bank’s president, who said the euro zone should start growing again this year, though the region has yet to reach a turning point. Investors were also cheered by a report that showed China may gradually be emerging from its worst economic downturn since the 2008 global crisis.