US stocks end higher, extending rally
Wall Street stocks finished higher on Monday, extending a rally from late last week ahead of a Federal Reserve decision and key earnings reports in the coming days. A news-jammed week includes Wednesday's Fed decision, where the central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged but will update investors on the prospects for cuts. Investors will also digest April jobs data, as well as surveys measuring manufacturing sector health and consumer confidence. "This week has something for everyone," said a note from Charles Schwab. The Dow Jones advanced 0.4 percent to 38,386. The S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 5,116, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.4 percent to 15,983. Apple, Coca-Cola and Pfizer are among the large companies reporting quarterly earnings. Companies in the S&P 500 have thus reported an average of 3.5 percent higher earnings compared with the year-ago period, according to Factset. Among individual companies, Tesla shot up nearly 15 percent after receiving a key security clearance from the Chinese government for smart cars during a visit to China by Chief Executive Elon Musk. Apple gained 2.7 percent following an upgrade from equity analysts at Bernstein. Domino's Pizza jumped 5.6 percent as it reported a 6.1 percent increase in first-quarter sales to US$4.4 billion. (AFP)