NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stock markets began the week with a major rally Monday, picking up from a positive mood from across the globe.

"Bulls are running with the near-term momentum, the 'soft landing' narrative, and it's hard to argue with recent price action," Jonathan Krinsky, BTIG's chief market technician said in a note to clients Monday.

"On the other hand, long term trends are still somewhat bearish, and we are always skeptical of such a widely watched 'breakout', especially after a big run."

The Nasdaq Composite did best, surging 223.98 points or 2.01 percent to 11,364.41.

The Standard and Poor's 500 gained 47.20 points or 1.19 percent to 4,019.81.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 254.07 points or 0.76 percent to 33,629.56.

Foreign exchange markets were volatile with the euro trading in a wide range. After hitting a nine-month high of 1.0927, the EU unit retreated to 1.0865 by the U.S. close Monday. The big gainer was the Australian dollar which ended the session around 0.7026. The New Zealand dollar followed closely behind at 0.6488.

The British pound was little changed at 1.2372. The Japanese yen was unwanted at 130.62. The Swiss franc softened to 0.9222.

The Canadian dollar inched up to 1.3375.

On international stock markets, the German Dax advanced 0.46 percent. The Paris-based CAC 40 rose 0.52 percent. In London, the FTSE 100 edged up 0.18 percent.

Japan's Nikkei 225 again was robust, closing Monday 352.51 points or 1.33 percent at 26,906.04.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong accelerated 393.65 points or 1.82 percent to 22,044.65.

China's Shanghai Composite gained 24.53 points or 0.76 percent to 3,264.81.

The Australian All Ordinaries firmed 7.90 points or 0.10 percent to 7,674.20.

Indonesia's Jakarta Composite rose 55.02 points or 0.81 percent to 6,874.93.

The Singapore Straits Times index gained 17.53 points or 0.54 percent to 3,293.71.

The Kospi Composite in South Korea added 14.92 points or 0.63 percent to 2,395.26.

The only party pooper was the S&P/NZX 50 in New Zealand which retreated 28.76 points or 0.24 percent to 11,948.72.