NEW YORK CITY (AFP) - United States stocks on Monday followed global markets higher, rallying on Mr Larry Summers' withdrawal as a candidate to lead the US Federal Reserve.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 148.37 (0.96 per cent) to 15,524.43 The broad-based S&P 500 shot up 15.68 (0.93 per cent) to 1,703.67, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 29.34 (0.79 per cent) to 3,751.52.

Equity markets in Asia closed higher, while leading indices in Britain, France and Germany were scoring gains.

Mr Summers, a Harvard economist who served as President Barack Obama's chief economic adviser during the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, on Sunday notified Mr Obama that he was withdrawing from the race to succeed Mr Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman, avoiding a likely bruising confirmation battle in the US Senate.

Besides the Summers news, markets were also cheered by a weekend agreement between Russia and the US to bring Syria's chemical weapons under international control. The deal is designed to avert a US military strike on Syria.