U.S. stocks soared on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average scoring an all-time intraday high and the S&P 500 notching a record close, as investors' appetite for risk increased amid strong gains in stock markets around the world.

The Dow rose 112.13 points, or 0.68 percent, to finish at a record close of 16,695.47 points, after piercing an all-time high of 16,704.84 points in intraday trading.

The S&P 500 surged 18.17 points, or 0.97 percent, to end at record high of 1,896.65 points. The broader index hit a session high of 1,897.13 points earlier, just less than 1 point shy of its all-time intraday high of 1,897.28 points set on April 4.

The Nasdaq Composite Index skyrocketed 71.99 points, or 1.77 percent, the biggest gain since January, to 4,143.86 points.

The market advanced followed a broad rally overseas. Chinese shares surged Monday after Beijing unveiled guidelines for regulating the capital market in coming years, pushing the Shanghai Composite Index up 2.1 percent in the day.

Meanwhile, European shares also closed sharply higher, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 ending at its highest not seen since May 2008, though uncertainties surrounding Ukraine remained after several cities in eastern Ukraine voted for independence.

In absence of major economic data in the day, investors were paying more attention to news outside the United States and growing bullish on the U.S. equity market.

Over the past couple of weeks, U.S. stocks struggled to move higher on upbeat economic data, strong corporate earnings, and the Federal Reserve's consistent pledge to keep interest rates at a record low as long as needed.

The latest round of earnings season was coming to an end, better than the market had estimated. So far roughly 90 percent of the S&P 500 companies, or the 452 companies, have reported first- quarter earnings reports, among which 69.2 percent have beaten analyst expectations on the earnings side, while 52.9 percent have posted revenues exceeding market consensus, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

However, gains on Wall Street have been limited as concerns over Ukraine's continued crisis kept investors to stay on the sidelines.

Last week, the three major stock indices ended mixed, with the Dow finishing 0.4 percent higher while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipping 0.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

The CBOE Volatility Index, a gauge of fear in the market, tumbled 5.34 percent to end at 12.23.

In other markets, oil prices gained Monday as tensions in eastern Ukraine flared up, raising speculations that a looming war could disrupt Russian crude supplies.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery moved up 60 U.S. cents to settle at 100.59 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery gained 52 cents to close at 108.41 dollars a barrel.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange went up Monday on the results of referendums held in two pro-Russia regions in Ukraine Sunday, with the most active gold contract for June delivery up 8.2 dollars, or 0.64 percent, to 1, 295.8 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against major currencies Monday, and it strengthened against the yen after data showed Japan posted record low current account surplus.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.3755 dollars from 1.3747 dollars of the previous session, and the dollar bought 102. 17 Japanese yen, higher than 101.79 yen of the previous session.

Source: Xinhuanet