During Monday's trading, stocks demonstrated a robust upward motion, reclaiming the ground lost in prior sessions. The major averages, led by the tech-centric Nasdaq, experienced an upward shift.
At present, the significant averages are lingering around their peak levels for the day. The Nasdaq is up 251.66 points or 1.6 percent at 16,224.84, the S&P 500 has escalated by 53.90 points or 1.1 percent at 5,170.99, and the Dow has gained 157.63 points or 0.4 percent, standing at 38,872.40.
The resurgence on Wall Street is largely driven by technology stocks, as evidenced by the notable gains posted by the Nasdaq.
Alphabet stock (GOOGL) is skyrocketing with a 6.9 percent increase after a Bloomberg report disclosed that Apple (AAPL) is negotiating to incorporate Google's Gemini artificial intelligence engine into the iPhone.
Similarly, Nvidia (NVDA), who is about to hold its GTC Conference where updates on their AI initiatives are expected, is also demonstrating noteworthy robustness.
Meanwhile, the traders' focus remains on the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Although the Fed is expected to maintain the interest rates, the bank's statement and economic forecast to be released alongside could significantly influence the rates’ outlook. The inflation readings that exceeded expectations recently have diminished optimism regarding the Fed's first rate cut anticipated in June.
In other news, the report issued by the National Association of Home Builders revealed an unanticipated rise in the confidence of U.S. home builders in March. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index increased from 48 in February to 51 in March, against the prediction for the index to remain unchanged. This unexpected rise pushed the housing market index above the breakeven point of 50 for the first since reaching 56 in July of the previous year.
Despite the significant market rally, most of the main sectors demonstrated only minor movements on the day. However, Semiconductor stocks witnessed significant strength, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising by 1.2 percent. While software and retail stocks are also gaining strength, gold stocks have declined.
In international trade, across Asia-Pacific, stock markets witnessed mostly upward trends. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.7 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index increased by 1.0 percent. However, the major European markets experienced a slight decline. While France's CAC 40 Index dropped by 0.3 percent, Germany’s DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just below the unchanged line.
In the bond market, treasury yields have continued to fall as witnessed in the previous week. Consequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note rose by 2.4 basis points to 4.328.
