The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index rose to more than one-week highs on Monday, driven by gains in semiconductor stocks and a report indicating that the incoming Trump administration may adopt a less aggressive tariff stance than expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 25.57 points, or 0.06%, to 42,706.56, while the S&P 500 index added 32.91 points, or 0.55%, to 5,975.38. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 243.30 points, or 1.24%, to 19,864.98.
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, but the communication services and tech stocks rose 2.13% and 1.44%, respectively.
Chipmakers saw a boost from Microsoft’s plan to invest $80 billion to develop artificial-intelligence-enabled data centers, as well as Foxconn’s forecast-beating fourth-quarter revenue. Nvidia rose 3.43%, Advanced Micro Devices gained 3.33%, and Micron Technology was up 10.45%.
Automakers also got a boost, with Ford rising 0.40% and General Motors adding 3.40% following a report that the incoming Trump administration is focused on imposing tariffs on every country, but only certain sectors deemed critical to national or economic security.
Citigroup rose 2.45% after a bullish rating from Barclays, while an index tracking banks rose 0.22%. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr announced his resignation, and investors will look for clues on the pace of monetary policy easing this year.
The S&P 500 posted eight new 52-week highs and eight new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 97 new highs and 39 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 17.36 billion shares, compared with the 12.37 billion average over the last 20 trading days. Markets will be shut on Thursday for a national day of mourning to mark the death of former President Jimmy Carter.