US STOCKS-Nasdaq up 3 percent; market extends gains

(Updates to show Nasdaq up 3 percent)

NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq shot up 3 percent on Monday as stocks extended gains as JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) raised its offer to buy Bear Stearns Cos BSC.N five-fold and data showed signs of a possible bottoming in the troubled housing sector.

Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) led gains on the Nasdaq.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 231.53 points, or 1.87 percent, at 12,592.85 The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 26.81 points, or 2.02 percent, at 1,356.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 71.01 points, or 3.14 percent, at 2,329.12. (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)