Caroline Valetkevich
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The three major U.S. stock indexes ended slightly higher on Monday, although investors remained cautious ahead of this week’s consumer price report, Federal Reserve policy announcement and Apple’s developer conference.
Shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVIDIA) edged higher after a 10-for-1 stock split, providing some support to Nasdaq and Nvidia. Some investors now believe the chipmaker may be included in the blue-chip Dow Jones Index.
The May consumer price index report will be released on Wednesday, at the same time as the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting ends.
The central bank will release its latest economic and policy forecasts and is expected to keep interest rates steady. Investors will be looking for clues on when the central bank may begin cutting interest rates.
“This week has been very positive for the market in terms of the Fed’s comments and information,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial (NASDAQ: ) in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s an important week for us.
“On top of that, you’re going to see the Consumer Price Index report on Wednesday morning. The market is going to look at anything economic related and anything related to inflation through the lens of the Fed.”
Preliminary data showed that the S&P 500 rose 13.90 points, or 0.26%, to 5,360.66 points; the Nasdaq rose 59.40 points, or 0.35%, to 17,192.53 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.11 points, or 0.19%, to 38,874.54 points.
After stronger-than-expected employment data for May on Friday, traders lowered expectations for a rate cut in September, putting the chance of a rate cut at 50%.
“I think it’s going to be pretty quiet as people try to hedge against what we might see on Wednesday,” said Alex McGrath, private wealth adviser at NorthEnd Private Wealth.
Apple (NASDAQ) shares fell ahead of the iPhone maker’s annual developer conference. Investors are eager for updates on how the company is integrating artificial intelligence into its products.
Among the day’s gainers, Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: ) jumped after activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosed it had increased its position in the airline to $1.9 billion.
