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Alsharq Tribune-Al Otaify
U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday as cooling economic indicators fueled a high probability of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut at Wednesday's meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 49.23 points, or 0.11 percent, to 45,883.45. The S&P 500 rose 30.99 points, or 0.47 percent, to 6,615.28, its first-ever close above 6,600. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 207.65 points, or 0.94 percent, to 22,348.75, setting a new all-time high.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors finished lower, with consumer staples and health care down 1.15 percent and 1.01 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, communication services and consumer discretionary led the gainers by adding 2.33 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
Tesla jumped 3.62 percent after CEO Elon Musk disclosed his largest-ever open market purchase, a 1 billion U.S. dollar buy, his first major purchase since 2020.
Large technology names broadly advanced. Alphabet rallied 4.3 percent, lifting its market capitalization above three trillion U.S. dollars for the first time. Oracle gained 3.43 percent, while Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Broadcom each added more than 1 percent. Only Nvidia shares edged slightly lower.
The market also drew support from recent economic data showing a cooling labor market and subdued inflation, fueling expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut on Wednesday. Futures markets showed a 95.8 percent probability of a quarter-point reduction and a 4.2 percent chance of a larger half-point cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
"The market is fully expecting the Fed to start a series of rate cuts at this week's meeting," said Scott Wren, senior global market strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute. "Much of today's action is traders getting positioned for Wednesday's announcement. This could be a 'Buy the rumor, sell the fact' event but it is safe to say market participants likely to not want to go into Wednesday short the SPX.
