Wall Street rallies on upbeat Chinese exports data

US stocks closed drastically higher on Monday to kick off the week on better-than-expected Chinese exports in August as well as encouraging mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the United States.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 140.62 points, or 0.94 percent, to 15,063.12 points. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock Index was up 16.54 points, or 1.00 percent, to 1,671.71 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index leapt 46.17 points, or 1.26 percent, to 3,706.18 points.

China's exports rose 7.2 percent year on year to 190.61 billion US dollars in August, up 2.1 percentage points from the growth in July, according to Chinese customs figures released Sunday.

The latest figure also exceeded market expectations.

Meanwhile, active M&A of US companies recently added positive sentiment to the market. Shares of Molex, a manufacturer of electronic interconnectors, jumped 31.66 percent to 38.63 dollars after the company agreed to be acquired by Koch Industries.

Verizon Communications Inc., the largest US wireless company, agreed last Monday to acquire 45 percent stake of Verizon Wireless owned by Vodafone Group Plc for 130 billion dollars in both cash and stock.

Concerns over Syria continued to pose uncertainties to the market, as US Congress resumed session on Monday after a summer recess and would debate a potential US-led military attack against Syria.

On the economic front, US consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 4.4 percent in July, according to the Federal Reserve. Revolving credit decreased at an annual rate of 2.6 percent, while nonrevolving credit rose at an annual rate of 7.4 percent.

San Francisco Fed President John Williams said in a speech Monday that the Fed should consider investors' irrational actions on asset prices when evaluating policies.

The market focus has been on the Fed's upcoming policy meeting scheduled for Sept. 17-18.

The US Labor Department said Friday that the country's employers added 169,000 jobs in August, fewer than market expectations of 180,000 jobs, which raised some doubts over whether the US central bank should curtail its massive bond buying programs soon.