U.S. stocks rally on Greek bailout; Greek equities higher; Euro plunges

U.S. stocks began the week on an upbeat note, with the main indices rising Monday, after eurozone leaders reached an agreement for a third bailout program for Greece.

The U.S. Markets followed a rally in the European equity markets. Greece’s stock market remained shut for trade, but the Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF rose 2%.

The S&P 500 gained 17 points, or 0.9%, to 2,094, with all 10 main sectors trading higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 168 points, or 1%, to 17,928, with all but one of its member trading higher.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 53 points, or 1.1% to 5,051.

Elsewhere, Chinese equities pushed Asian markets higher, although shares of many companies were still banned for trade on the back of the sharp selloff in recent weeks.

Gold prices edged lower, while other metals gained. 

Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped $3.40, or 0.29%, to trade at $1,154.50 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours.

Also on the Comex, silver futures for September delivery lost 0.1 cents, or 0.01%, to trade at $15.48 a troy ounce.

The dollar index was last at 96.586, higher 0.58%.

The dollar rose sharply against most other major currencies and strengthened particularly against the euro, with EUR/USD last trading at 1.1038 – compared to 1.1156 late Friday in New York.

Investors will now look ahead to Fed Chair Janey Yellen's testimony on the semiannual monetary policy report later in the week for any further indications on the timing of an initial rate hike.