On Monday, the stock market experienced slight growth, bolstering the gains achieved the previous week. All major averages displayed positive movement, although the influx of buyers was not overwhelming.
At present, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stands at 38,315.29, an increase of 75.63 points or 0.2 percent. The Nasdaq Composite rose by 42.80 points or 0.3 percent to 15,970.70, while the S&P 500 climbed to 5,112.49, making a gain of 12.53 points or 0.3 percent.
This modest increase in Wall Street can be attributed to the momentum that stocks gained last week due to a positive response from robust tech earnings. Notably, Tesla's shares soared by 12.3 percent following the removal of restrictions on its cars by Chinese local authorities.
Despite this, the overall trading activity remains somewhat restricted, as traders anticipate the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. Though it is largely presumed that the interest rates will remain unchanged, Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference and the subsequent statement could further clarify the rate outlook.
The recent economic data has mitigated expectations of an imminent rate cut, leading to a prevailing sentiment that the central bank will keep rates steady until at least September.
Traders may also be holding back ahead of this week's surge of earnings news and the Labor Department's prominent monthly jobs report.
In terms of sector news, telecom stocks have made a significant leap, driving the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index up by 1.6 percent. Biotechnology stocks also demonstrated noticeable strength, with NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index increasing by 1.4 percent. Additionally, utilities, networking, and tobacco stocks reported significant gains, while other major sectors exhibited milder movements.
In international markets, most Asia-Pacific stock markets reported gains on Monday, with an exception of Japanese markets due to a holiday. The Shanghai Composite Index in China increased by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index grew by 0.5 percent.
Conversely, European markets displayed mixed results. Despite the UK's FTSE 100 Index rising by 0.2 percent, Germany's DAX Index and France's CAC 40 Index dropped by 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries continued last Friday's rebound, resulting in a decline of 4.1 basis points at 4.628 percent for the yield on the benchmark ten-year note.