U.S. stocks rise as Syria attack concerns fade; Dow rises 0.94%

U.S. stocks shot up on Monday after the prospects for an imminent U.S. attack on Syria began to fade, while sentiments that Federal Reserve stimulus measures may stay in place boosted spirits as well.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.94%, the S&P 500 index rose 1.00%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 1.26%.

U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to address the U.S. on Tuesday and press the case for an attack on Syria, though sentiments that he will face a tough sell in the U.S. House of Representatives allayed fears that military strikes will engulf Syria's oil-rich neighbors into the conflict and create global geopolitical unrest.

Also silencing the war drums, Syrian ally Russia proposed earlier that Syrian President Bashar Assad put up his alleged chemical weapons cache under international control, which sent stock prices gaining as did sentiments that the Federal Reserve won't rush to dismantle stimulus programs.

The U.S. economy added 169,000 jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed on Friday, less than market calls for a 180,000 increase.

July 's figure was revised down to 104,000 from 162,000, while June's figure was revised down to 172,000 from 188,000.

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.3% in August, from 7.4% in July, as more people left the workforce. 

The data continued to fuel sentiments that the Federal Reserve may hold off on announcing plans to begin winding down its USD85 billion in monthly bond purchases at its Sept. 17-18 policy meeting.

Even if the Fed does announce plans to taper stimulus programs at its meeting this month it may start out trimming asset purchases very lightly.

Stimulus programs such as bond purchases tend to send stock prices rising.

Advancing economic indicators in Europe and Asia furthered whetted appetite for risk and boosted share prices.

The Sentix index of euro zone investor confidence rose to a six-month high of 6.5 in September from -4.9 in August. Analysts were forecasting a -2.8 reading.

In Japan, revised data released earlier showed that the economy expanded by 0.9% in the second quarter, in line with expectations, which sparked demand for higher-yielding asset classes.

The country's economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.8%, higher than an initial estimate of 2.6%.

Separately, China reported that its exports grew 7.2% year-over-year in August, up from 5.1% in July, which painted a picture of an improving global economy.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Caterpillar, up 2.63%, Alcoa, up 2.15%, and The Travelers Companies, up 2.12%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Verizon, down 0.97%, Hewlett-Packard, down 0.27%, and Pfizer, which was up 0.07%.

European indices, meanwhile, finished largely lower.

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.17%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.22%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished up 0.01%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished down 0.25%.