US stock market: S&P 500, Dow ends higher as investors await US inflation, jobs data
Wall Street ended higher on Monday, with gains in 3M and Goldman Sachs ahead of key inflation and jobs data this week that will offer more clues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate path.
All three major stock indexes rose as investors digested last Friday's comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that the U.S. central bank may need to raise interest rates further to ensure inflation is contained.
Focus now shifts to a report on the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, to be released on Thursday, and non-farm payrolls data due on Friday.
«The fact that Powell didn't come out and say anything particularly hawkish or particularly unnerving to markets — that has proven to make this a bit of a risk-on day, even if he wasn't outright dovish either,» said Ross Mayfield, Investment Strategy Analyst at Baird.
Nvidia rose 1.78% and was the most traded stock in the S&P 500, with $31 billion worth of the chipmaker's shares exchanged.
Other megacaps also gained, with Apple and Alphabet both adding 0.9%.
3M jumped 5.2% after a report that the conglomerate has tentatively agreed to pay more than $5.5 billion to resolve over 300,000 lawsuits claiming it sold the U.S.
