NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rocketed higher Monday, a rally ignited by a weakening of the U.S. dollar and a sharp spurt by the euro.

Concerns about inflation however remain.

"I don't think we have reached rock bottom yet, it's a bear market rally. The market is still pretty concerned about sticky inflation," Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets told CNBC Monday.

The Dow Jones industrials did best, rising 618.34 points or 1.98 percent to 31,880.24.

The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite climbed 180.66 points or 1.59 percent to 11,535.27.

The Standard and Poor's 500 added 72.39 points or 1.86 percent to 11,535.27.

Major currencies rallied across the board Monday as the U.S. dollar continued weakening. The euro jumped on views that the European central bank will hike official interest rates.

"The dollar may be carving out a peak, given Europe's resilience to the energy shock and potential easing of lockdowns in China," Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategist Joe Capurso told CNBC Monday.

The euro thundered up to 1.0681 around the New York close Monday. The British pound advanced to 1.2579. The Japanese yen was steady at 127.86. The Swiss franc was sharply higher at 0.9654.

The Canadian dollar strengthened to 1.2778. The Australian dollar was firm at 0.7101. The New Zealand dollar rallied to 0.6462.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 262.49 points or 0.98 percent to 27,001.52.

On overseas equity markets, the CAC 40 in Paris, France jumped 1.17 percent. The Dax in Germany rose by 1.38 percent. In London, the FTSE 100 gained a hefty 1.67 percent.

The Australian All Ordinaries shrugged off the weekend change of government, and the swearing-in of new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday, rising 7.90 points or 0.11 percent to 7,398.90.

China's Shanghai Composite inched up 0.29 of a point or 0.01 percent to 3,146.86.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 climbed 49.07 points or 0.44 percent to 11,316.46.

South Korea's Kospi Composite gained 8.09 points or 0.31 percent to 2,647.38.

In Hong Kong, going against the trend, the Hang Seng down 275 pointsdeclined 247.18 points or 1.19 percent to 20,470.06.