The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 25.13 points (0.20 percent) to 12,402.15 in opening trade, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 3.25 points (0.12 percent) to 2,792.85.

The S&P 500-stock index, a broader measure of the markets, advanced 3.13 points (0.23 percent) to 1,335.54.

Wall Street stocks were on the upswing "following a solid week of gains capped off by a favorable US labor report on Friday, as a plethora of global merger and acquisition deals is helping to support sentiment," Charles Schwab analysts said in a client note.

In a week light on major economic and company earnings releases, Wall Street was expected to focus on a speech Monday by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

Bernanke, who was due to speak at a conference hosted by the Atlanta Fed, has shown no inclination to ramp back the central bank's massive support of the government-led recovery.

Stocks rallied Friday as traders welcomed the Labor Department' report of a drop in the US unemployment rate in March thanks to strong job creation. The US jobless rate ticked down to 8.8 percent from 8.9 percent in February.

The Dow added 0.46 percent, the Nasdaq was up 0.31 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.50 percent.