Stocks edged higher Monday after President Donald Trump said that U.S.-China trade negotiations were going well. Investors also braced for a key Federal Reserve meeting this week.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered 67.36 points, to open a new week at 45,901.58.
The S&P 500 progressed 29.67 points to 6,613.96, a new record.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ index gathered 148.09 points to 22,289.17. Top U.S. and Chinese officials for a second day discussed tariff rates and the imminent deadline for a divestment of Chinese-owned social media TikTok.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the meeting between officials had been positive and that a deal “was also reached on a ‘certain’ company that young people in our Country very much wanted to save,” potentially referring to TikTok. The U.S. will go ahead on its TikTok ban if China does not let go of its demands for reduced tariffs and tech restrictions, Reuters reported on Monday, citing a a senior U.S. official with knowledge of negotiations.
As talks between the countries continued, China’s market regulator said Nvidia violated the country’s anti-monopoly law and that it would continue its probe into the chipmaker. Nvidia shares dropped 1.8%.
Tesla shares jumped 7% after CEO Elon Musk disclosed an insider purchase of the stock worth about $1 billion, his largest buy in the open market ever and his first significant purchase since 2020.
Traders took the buy as a vote of confidence by Musk in the company, which is attempting to turn its focus towards robotics as electric vehicle competition has intensified.
Monday’s gains come after the latest economic data showing a weakening labor market and tame inflation spurred hopes the Fed will cut interest rates when it concludes its meeting on Wednesday.
The market was last pricing in a 96% certainty that the central bank will lower interest rates by a quarter percentage point, with a meager 3.6% likelihood of a steeper half percentage point cut
Prices for 10-year Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 4.04% from Friday’s 4.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices pushed higher 71 cents to $63.40 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked $10.00 to $3,683.50 U.S. an ounce.
