U.S. stocks gained Monday on a sharp jump in oil prices boosted by geopolitical concerns following weekend terror attacks in Paris. 

The major U.S. averages closed more than 1 percent higher, recovering some of their sharp declines last week.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 225 points in afternoon trade, with Chevron, Exxon Mobil and UnitedHealth contributing the most to gains.

"I think the positive tone to the market owes something to the fact that European shares moved higher," said John Lonski, chief economist at Moody's. He also noted some support from greater confidence in a gradual pace of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

In Asia overnight, stocks were hit by a sell-off on Monday, with tourism-related plays among the hardest-hit, as sentiment was badly dented by the Paris attacks. In other Asia news, data released Monday showed Japan's economy slid back into recession in July-September.