Stocks on Wall Street climbed Monday, kicking off a big week filled with rate decisions from the Federal Reserve, the monthly jobs report and earnings from other tech heavyweights Magnificent Seven.
The tech-heavy S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained about 0.2% as shares of Tesla (TSLA) jumped amid upbeat news from China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which has fewer technology components, rose about 0.2%.
Stocks are eyeing a return to Friday’s strong gains, which came as strong earnings from Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) reinforced optimism about a lasting rally led by Big Tech. Quarterly reports from Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) due this week will put those hopes to the test again, with the costs and prospects of AI under the microscope.
Among tech, Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s surprise visit to China on Sunday brought immediate benefits to the electric vehicle maker, which removed two major hurdles to rolling out its Full Self Driving software in the country. Tesla shares rose more than 11% after striking an FSD-related deal with Baidu (BIDU), seen as potentially helping stem its declining sales in a huge market. The Chinese internet giant’s U.S.-listed shares rose nearly 7%.
At the same time, investors are counting down to the Federal Reserve’s policy decision at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. Confusion reigns over whether the slowdown in inflation has stalled and what any continued price pressures would imply for lower interest rates.
With the central bank expected to keep rates steady at their highest level in 23 years, debate rages over the timing and even likelihood of a cut in 2024. The focus is on whether policymakers of the Fed will reverse their previous forecast of a significant easing of borrowing. costs. Traders have already reduced their bets, and the April jobs report that closes the week could shake things up again.
Among the big individual moves on Monday, U.S.-listed shares of Philips (PHG) soared more than 33% after the medical device maker announced it had reached a $1.1 billion settlement to settle claims related to the recall of respiratory devices. The settlement was significantly lower than expected.
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