U.S. stocks rallied early Monday, an opening surge to the last quarter of a mostly gloomy year.

An hour after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 618.37 points, or 2.15%, to 29,343.88. The S&P 500 rose 72.84 points, or 2.703%, to 3,658.46, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 169.32 points, or 1.60%, to 10,744.91.

The morning rally did little to reverse a year-long skid.

The Dow fell 6.66% for the quarter ending Friday, the third quarter in a row it lost ground. The last time the Dow fell three-straight quarters occurred in 2015.

The S&P fell 5.28% and the Nasdaq 4.11% over the same three-month period ending Friday. It was the first consecutive three-quarter drop for each index since 2009.

"I think we could be set up for some type of reprieve but the underlying trend at this point is still a downward trend and choppy waters to continue," Truist analyst Keith Lerner told CNBC.