By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks jumped on Monday, lifting the S&P 500 to within reach of its record, as Wall Street celebrated Larry Summers taking his name out of the running to head the Federal Reserve.

"Summers had been a critic of quantitative easing, and global markets are thrilled he will not be in charge of taking away their 'fix' too quickly," wrote Nick Raich, chief executive officer at the Earnings Scout, in emailed commentary.

Equities were also bolstered by a weekend agreement between the U.S. and Russia on a plan to get rid of Syria's chemical weapons.

"After the initial shock of the Summers announcement begins to wear off, we expect the stock market to consolidate recent gains, as it digests Fed news and waits to see how developments in Syria progress," noted Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist at Davidson Companies.

The S&P 500 index (SPX) was 6.23 points from its record of 1,709.67 hit on Aug. 2, as it traded up 15.45 points, or 0.9%, at 1,703.44. Industrials paced sector gains.

Packaging Corp. of America (PKG) leapt 6.9% after the maker of corrugated shipping boxes said it would acquire Boise Inc. (BZ) for about $1.27 billion. Boise rallied 26%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 163.76 points, or 1.1%, to 15,539.82.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) climbed 11.43 points, or 0.3%, to 3,733.62.

For every stock falling, more than four rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where 268 million shares traded by 12.40 a.m. Eastern. Composite volume approached 1.5 billion.

The dollar (DXY) declined against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners and the yield on the 10-year Treasury note (10_YEAR) dropped 5 basis points to 2.838%.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil fell, with futures (CLV3) off $1.10, or 1%, to $107.10 a barrel. The price of gold (GCZ3) rose $9.60, or 0.8%, to $1,318.20 an ounce.

The exit by Summers, a former Treasury secretary and economic adviser to President Barack Obama, came as Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee voiced opposition to his nomination, which had not been announced.

His exit comes just ahead of a two-day Fed meeting that begins Tuesday, with the central bank expected to start cutting its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases otherwise known as quantitative easing.

A critic of quantitative easing, Summers was viewed as more likely to tighten monetary policy than Janet Yellen, the current Fed vice chairman now considered the most likely person to replace Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Fed.

Monday's economic reports had manufacturing in the New York region expanding less than expected this month, despite a pickup in orders and shipments.

Another report had industrial production climbing in August.

On Friday, Wall Street knocked out a second week of gains as worries about Syria ebbed and as investors looked to this week's monetary-policy decision by the Fed.

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