US markets have closed out the year with a sharp jump on news that Congress was close to a deal to avert the fiscal cliff – but also on a 4.3 per cent gain by market giant Apple.

At the close on Monday the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 167.95 points (1.30 per cent) at 13,106.06.

The broad-market S&P 500 gained 23.89 (1.70 per cent) at 1,426.32, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite surged 59.20 points (2.00 per cent) to 3,019.51.