Wall Street edges up as investors await key 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 US 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 percent and was the most traded stock in the S&P 500, with US$31 billion worth of the chipmaker's shares exchanged. Other megacaps also gained, with Apple and Alphabet both adding 0.9 percent. 3M jumped 5.2 percent after a report that the conglomerate has tentatively agreed to pay more than US$5.5 billion to resolve over 300,000 lawsuits claiming it sold the US military defective combat earplugs. Goldman Sachs gained 1.8 percent after the lender struck a deal to sell an investment advisory business to wealth management firm Creative Planning. The S&P 500 climbed 0.63 percent to end the session at 4,433 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.84 percent to 13,705 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.62 percent to 34,560 points. US-listed shares of Chinese companies including JD.com, Baidu and Alibaba rallied over 2 percent after Beijing halved the stamp duty on stock trading effective on Monday to boost its ailing market. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo discussed concerns about restrictions on American businesses including Intel and Micron with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. Micron's stock rose 2.5 percent and Intel added 1.1 percent. (Reuters)