US STOCKS-Wall Street stocks finish higher as investors focus on Fed moves

Traders expected the Fed to keep rates unchanged while striking a hawkish tone. Tesla shares surged, after the electric vehicle maker made progress in securing regulatory approval to launch its advanced driver-assistance program in China, its second-largest market after the U.S. Apple gained following a report that the iPhone maker had renewed discussions with OpenAI about using the startup's generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, with sharp gains for Tesla and Apple leading the way, as investors looked toward what the Federal Reserve would say about the interest rate outlook after its policy meeting this week. Traders expected the Fed to keep rates unchanged while striking a hawkish tone.

Tesla shares surged, after the electric vehicle maker made progress in securing regulatory approval to launch its advanced driver-assistance program in China, its second-largest market after the U.S. Apple gained following a report that the iPhone maker had renewed discussions with OpenAI about using the startup's generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Bernstein upgraded Apple's stock to "outperform".

Other megacap stocks finished lower including Alphabet , Meta Platforms, Nvidia and Microsoft. "The bigger question than rates, because they're not going to cut this week, is how hawkish they're going to speak because they've already been pretty hawkish," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at hedge fund Great Hill Capital in New York.

Money markets are pricing in about 35 basis points (bps) of interest rate cuts this year, down from about 150 bps seen at the beginning of the year, according to LSEG. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 16.34 points, or 0.32%, to end at 5,116.30 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 57.14 points, or 0.36%, to 15,985.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 151.63 points, or 0.40%, to 38,391.29.

Shares of Domino's Pizza jumped after topping expectations for first-quarter same-store sales. Of the 233 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported quarterly earnings, 78.1% surpassed analyst expectations, compared with a long-term average of 67%, according to LSEG data. Paramount Global gained after a report that the Redstone family and Skydance Media CEO David Ellison have made concessions to make a potential change in control of the streaming firm more appealing for other investors.

"The overall momentum is still to the upside and it's an important week, with a ton of earnings, the Fed on Wednesday and nonfarm payrolls on Friday, and the path of least resistance is higher," said Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading in Boston. Meanwhile, the Japanese yen jumped against the dollar on Monday, with traders citing yen-buying intervention by authorities trying to support a currency languishing at levels last seen over three decades ago.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)