US stocks jump on Berkshire deal

U.S. stocks traded higher in the morning session on Monday, recovering from sharp declines last week, as Berkshire deal cheered investors' sentiment.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 221.51 points, or 1.27 percent, to 17,594.89. The S&P 500 gained 24.19 points, or 1.16 percent, to 2,101.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 56.84 points, or 1.13 percent, to 5,100.39.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway on Monday agreed to buy Precision Castparts for about 37.2 billion U.S. dollars, which would be the conglomerate's largest takeover ever.

Shares of Precision Castparts added more than 19 percent in the early trading. Such deal showed the M&A boom was alive and well, according to Reuters.

Investors will also focus on Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart's comments later Monday. Last week, Lockhart said he would support an increase in the U.S. central bank's interest rate in September unless there was "significant deterioration" in the U.S. economy.

U.S. stocks ended mildly lower Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average logging a seven-session losing streak, as Wall Street tried to digest the closely-watched nonfarm payrolls report.

U.S. jobs report came out mostly in line with market expectations. U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 215,000 in July, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.3 percent.