Stocks close near highs; Pros look past US

The bulls charged down Wall Street on Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average posting its best day in two months, lifted by upbeat economic data from China and despite ongoing worries over Syria.

"The good China data somewhat takes the hard landing fear of China off the table at least for now," said Brian Kelly, a professional trader, after China reported its exports grew by 7.2 percent in August, exceeding market expectations for a gain of 6 percent, while consumer inflation held steady.

In turn, the Dow soared 140.62 points, or 0.94 percent, to close at 15,063.12. The S&P 500 jumped 16.54 points, or 1 percent, to finish at 1,671.71, while the Nasdaq climbed 46.17 points, or 1.26 percent, to end at 3,706.18. The Nasdaq 100 rallied to hit its highest level since November 2000.

(Read more: Mom and pop stilldon't believe in this market)

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The next big catalyst for U.S. markets comes next week, Kelly said, when the Federal Reserve meets to debate when to start tapering off its asset purchasing program. He thinks the markets have priced in too much of a taper, so he recommends buying U.S. stocks for a trade.

Pro trader J.C. Parets, on the other hand, prefers emerging markets over both Europe and the United States right now.

"I actually don't like the United States. I think you're much better, in the short term, in the emerging markets," said Parets, founder of Eagle Bay Capital, noting the emerging markets relative to the S&P 500 bottomed about three months ago. He recommends shorting the United States, but sticking with financial stocks.

Looking at the technicals, pro trader Guy Adami noted the S&P has found resistance at 1,625. Adami thinks the markets are at the top end of the range, though, as it's priced in too much good news. He warned the market could pullback within the next few days.

To trade it, Adami recommends electronics connections maker Amphenol. He thinks it could continue to rally, especially on news Koch Industries, the giant privately held conglomerate, agreed on Monday to buy rival Molex for $7.2 billion.

—By CNBC's Drew Sandholm. Follow him on Twitter @DrewSandholm