US equities extended upward momentum on Monday amid easing concerns about the economic outlook while also increasing confidence the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. The major averages surged going into the final hour of trading, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closing just shy of their highs of the session. The Nasdaq shot up 245.05 points or 1.3 percent to 17,876.77, the S&P 500 jumped 54.00 points or 1.0 percent to 5,608.26 and the Dow climbed 236.77 points or 0.6 percent to 40,896.53. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed higher for the eight consecutive session and have more than offset the steep drop seen early this month.
Among individual stocks, AMD surged 4.5% after announcing its acquisition of ZT Systems, a provider of artificial intelligence infrastructure. Palo Alto Networks rose 2.8% ahead of its earnings report set for after the closing bell. On the downside, HP Inc. fell 3.7% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Overweight to Equal Weight.
In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board released a report showing its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by much more than expected in the month of July. The Conference Board said its leading economic index slid by 0.6 percent in July after dipping by 0.2 percent in June. Meanwhile, the report said the index fell by 2.1 percent over the six-month period ending in July 2024, a smaller rate of decline than the 3.1 percent slump over the six-month period between July 2023 and January 2024. Later this week, the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting may shed additional light on the outlook for interest rates along with remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.
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