S&P 500, Nasdaq hit new highs ahead of Fed rate meeting

Street stocks gained on Monday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reaching new records on hopes that the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its policy meeting this week.

Positive signals from US-China economic talks in Madrid also bolstered sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 per cent to 45,883.45, while the broad-based S&P 500 Index added 0.5 per cent to 6,615.28.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.9 per cent to 22,348.75.

The movements came as investors maintain expectations that the Fed will make its first rate cut of 2025 at the end of its two-day gathering on Wednesday, as officials move to shore up the economy while the labour market weakens.

The market will likely be in “wait-and-see” mode ahead of the rate decision, said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.

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Importantly, investors will be trying to work out if the central bank is starting a cycle of rate cuts or if it makes a one-off reduction, he said.

Meanwhile, top economic officials from Washington and Beijing also said on Monday that they have reached a framework deal to resolve their dispute over TikTok - as a deadline approaches for the app to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a US ban.

Tesla shares also climbed 3.6 per cent after CEO Elon Musk disclosed his purchase of around US$1 billion in shares of the electric vehicle company. AFP